This Time as a Namikaze
by TwiceMarked
Summary: A broken promise sends Naruto spiralling down into a depression after his greatest victory. He is given a chance to make things right, to make things better. But this time, he won't be alone. This time, he'll do it as a Namikaze. M just in case.
1. The Return

Author's Notes. First story submitted on fanfiction. Hope you like it. Warning, SPOILERS during this chapter. The Story will be a Naruhina.

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I wouldn't be up to my eyebrows in debt. Although that would be more impressive if they were more like Rock Lee's… or Might Guy's… (Shudder)

* * *

Chapter 1

The Return

Slowly, Naruto stumbled back down the path back to Konoha, both mentally and physically exhausted. He was only just able to make five more steps before he collapsed, boneless, to the ground. The battle had been long and the fighting fierce, yet in the end, he had prevailed. Pain was defeated and Konoha had been saved. The village may have been destroyed, but thanks to Nagato, its people lived once more and inside them, the Will of Fire still burned strongly. His precious people had survived. At least, that's what Katsuya had said. But he had to know. He had o find out whether or not their survival was not just a dream for himself. Before going any further, Naruto dragged his weary body up to a sitting position and drew deeply on the Nature Energy surrounding him, once more entering Sage Mode, not for battle this time, but for an entirely different reason.

"They're alive," he whispered, as tears began to stream down his face. "Sakura-chan, Kakashi-sensei, Shizune, Hinata-chan, I can feel them all. They're alright." He sighed in relief, finally reassured, before quickly releasing sage mode. He had used far too much chakra to keep a hold of it. Sage Mode was extremely dangerous to try and use when a person was so close to chakra exhaustion. Without his usual almost inhuman amounts of chakra, the nature energy would quickly overwhelm his own, resulting in him morphing into a frog, before turning to stone. It was a stupid, dangerous, reckless thing to do. But Naruto had had to know for himself. He had to know that those precious to him were safe. Turning, he addressed the one who was moving stealthily towards him. "You're late, Kakashi-sensei," he said with a grin. Kakashi just eye smiled at him. "Well, you know those little old ladies…"

* * *

There was only a short distance left to go before they reached the village, despite that, Kakashi was carrying his exhausted student back to the village on his back. 'Student…' Kakashi thought, shaking his head, musing about all the progress that his sleeping student had made: from dead last, to great shinobi, from the hated outcast, to village savior. "Truly Naruto, you are your father's son," he whispered, smiling underneath his mask.

"Thank you," Naruto said softly. Kakashi started.

"You know who he is?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto nodded.

* * *

_Flashback_

_Naruto had felt such despair. All his work, all his training and he had still not been strong enough. Hinata-chan… Hinata was dead and it was his fault, all his fault. No, it was not his fault. It was Pain's fault. Pain had done this, just as he had taken Jiraiya from him. No more. He had always been ready to die for those precious to him, ever since he had met Haku. Now, for the first and last time, he would heed the fox's words. He would unleash the Kyuubi no Kitsune and Pain would die. "That's it boy, give in to your anger, your grief. Take this seal off and I will give you the power to kill the one who has taken away those precious to you." Slowly, Naruto slid his hand underneath the seal, readying himself to rip it off in one moment, before a hand stopped his and pulled him away from the great gates._

"_The seal is set so that if 8 tails are released, I'll appear within your consciousness. I didn't want that to happen… I never wanted to see you again Kyuubi._

"_But… I looked forward to seeing how my son had grown… So I guess you could call it even." Turning around, Naruto faced the man who claimed him as his own, his father, Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage._

* * *

Naruto smiled, remembering all that his father had told him, the message, the warning, but most of all, the sound of his father's voice, the glint in his sapphire eyes so like his own and the best thing of all, the love that ran so deep within his father's voice when he spoke about how he believed in him. Then, they came out of the trees, to behold a sight that, although he had dreamed about it for such a long time, Naruto had never truly thought he would see. The villagers, all of the villagers were there, gathered together in a huge crowd: a crowd that was waiting for the return of their hero. Him. Cheering him on. They were there for him; they were there for Uzumaki Naruto.

Kakashi smiled, remembering back to the days when he had first taken on his genin team, secure in the belief that they would most likely fail the next day. At the time, he had not believed that Naruto would ever accomplish his dream. Now, it was being fulfilled before his very eyes.

_Flashback_

"_My dream is to be greater than the Hokage! I'll make everyone in the village acknowledge my existence."_

"Naruto," he said. "You did good." Tears in his eyes, Naruto looked around, searching for the faces of those closest, unable to pick out their voices in the roar of the crowd surrounding him. His eyes quickly picked out Sakura, her bright pink hair making her stand out in the crowd. With a smile on her face, his teammate approached until within arms reach. The people around them quieted down, to such an extent that Naruto could hear her whispered words.

"Naruto," she said softly.

"Hai, Sakura-chan," he said, staring at the one who he had had such a crush on for longer than he cared to remember.

"BAKA!" she shouted, walloping him on the head. The crowd around them gasped, several of them almost bug-eyed from astonishment. Then, she pulled him into an embrace.

"Thank you," she whispered, the tears slowly leaking from her eyes. As she stepped away, the crowd rushed in, hoisting him onto their shoulders and tossing him into the air. He began to laugh, a true laugh and deep. Iruka, Naruto's first sensei, looked on in pride, going over nostalgic memories of this boy, no, this man, who had become like a brother to him, like a son.

* * *

Naruto's grin grew ever wider as he caught sight of his friends, the remainder of the Konoha 11. There was Lee, standing next to his sensei Might Guy, in those garish green tights, both of them standing in the nice guy pose. Down back into the crowd he went as gravity once more took hold of him and he fell back into the crowd. Next time he was thrown into the air, he spotted Lee and Guy in an exuberant, sorry, _youthful_, Man Hug. Naruto quickly looked away before the unbreakable sunset genjutsu came into effect. Standing next to them were the only ones able to ignore their teammates antics, Neji and Tenten. Neji wore a small, confidant smile of acceptance, but there was a worried look within his pale eyes. Tenten stood almost suspiciously close to Neji, her face set in a look of pride, with her hand resting almost comfortingly on the crook of Neji's elbow.

Once more, Naruto was thrown into the air, his eyes searching for someone in particular. Team Ino-Shika-Cho were the next ones spotted, Shikamaru leaning on his best friends arm, his leg obviously broken. The first chuunin nodded his head significantly at Naruto, signaling his respect. Anything else would have probably been too troublesome. Choji smiled crookedly, eye's closed. Ino also wore a small smile, her eyes showing a bit of disbelief. Naruto was so happy to see them. But they were not who he was looking for.

Shikaku, Shikamaru's father, noticed his wandering eyes. It didn't take him long to figure out what he was looking for. The genius never made a move as one of the ANBU, all of whom had proved so ineffective against Pain, landed at a spot free from the press of the crowd right next to him. "What is it?" he asked.

"Emergency meeting. You're to report to the council room immediately."

"What council room?" Shikaku asked wryly, waving his hand, indicating the destruction surrounding them.

"I'll lead you to it."

Naruto was getting worried. He had been tossed up eight times now and he had still seen no sight of the one he was looking for. Finally, on toss number nine, he spotted Kiba, which meant that the one standing next to him all bundled up in the hoodie had to be Shino. Naruto still had difficulty with spotting Shino when he had all those clothes hiding almost all of his skin. Kiba was also smiling, a wide smile that showed off his elongated canines. Naruto couldn't for the life of him tell what expression Shino had on his face. But he could see that not all was what it seemed, something was wrong. Tension was written in every line of their bodies. Kiba, although smiling, was distracted. There was something forced about their appearance, as if they did not really want to be there. Naruto's heart sank. He knew what was wrong. "Stop," he whispered. The crowd did not heed him. "Please, stop," Naruto said. Some of them heard his words now, but, believing him to being modest. They just grew more enthusiastic in their praise.

"STOOOOOP!" Naruto roared. Surprised, Naruto was dropped to the floor, landing with a thud onto his rear. Quickly he sprang to his feet, ignoring the small pain. "Where is she?" he asked the now silent crowd. Those closest to him could not meet his gaze. "I said, where is she?" Sakura bit her lip. "Naruto…" she said, biting her lip.

"Where is Hinata Hyuuga?"


	2. A Promise Made and Broken

Author's Notes. This chapter's a little bit sad. But don't worry the story is still Naruhina, it just might take a while to get there.

Disclaimer: At the moment, I'm planning a heist to steal the rights to Naruto, but as of yet, I've got no idea how to go about it. So, I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Chapter 2

A Promise Made… and Broken

It was Kiba and Shino that took him to Hinata's bedside. As Naruto entered the tent, Kurenai looked up from where she was sitting, right next to the Hyuuga heir. Hinata's eyes were closed, sweat beaded her forehead and her breathing was heavy and laboured. Kurenai's eyes were now completely red, both the pupil and the white, evidence of her weeping. She smiled at Naruto, her eyes watery. Naruto immediately crossed the room to her side, seating himself next to Kurenai, as close as he could be to Hinata.

"How is she?" Naruto asked. Things were not looking good. Naruto cursed himself for a dozen different kinds of fools for not realizing that this would have happened earlier. Nagato's jutsu was designed to raise the dead. So, since Hinata had not been dead when the jutsu came into effect, she had remained in here mortally injured state, since she was still alive, if barely. But the way that things were going, that could soon change.

Despite Tsunade's best efforts and Katsuya's help, there were still so many wounded men and women and not nearly enough medic nin to treat them all. Almost none of the medic nin had actually died, since they had stayed as far away from the battlefield as possible, in order to be able to treat the wounded. Reaching out, he gently touched her forehead as he spoke.

"Don't worry Hinata, I'm here. I'm here for you and here I'll stay." At his touch and words, Hinata drew in a great, shuddering breath, after which her breathing seemed to get easier. Naruto removed his hand from her and she moaned almost painfully. He replaced his hand. Hinata was running a fever. This time, he was sure of it. "Why is she not being treated? Where are the medic nins?" Naruto said, his voice soft so as not to wake her.

Kurenai shook her head. "They are completely swamped. Almost ninety percent of medic nin are suffering from chakra exhaustion."

"Where's Baa-chan?" Naruto said angrily.

"In a coma," Kiba answered.

"She used far too much chakra in the battle, through Katsuya. She went above and beyond anything that has been seen of the Kages of this day. By rights, she should be dead."

"She would be if I hadn't been able to forcibly insert some chakra back into her chakra coils." A person stepped inside the tent.

"Shizune-san!" Naruto said with a sigh of relief. Hurriedly, Shizune entered the room, Sakura trailing close behind.

"Help her, please," Kurenai begged.

"No need to ask." Shizune quickly moved into the room. Sakura gave her the situation.

"Hinata-chan was stabbed by one of Pain's chakra rods, which punctured a lung and grazed her heart. I was able to repair the damage done to her heart, but that's not the worst part."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, his breath tightening in his throat.

"What happened to you when Pain pinned you to the ground with those rods?" Sakura asked.

"I couldn't move. He used the chakra receivers to send his own chakra into me, paralysing me." Sakura nodded grimly.

"I thought as much. Remember Naruto, Pain wanted you alive. He wanted Hinata dead. Do you really think that that was the only type of chakra he could send into a person through those things?" Everyone in the room stiffened.

"Your words lead me to the conclusion that Pain used a harmful chakra to do further damage to Hinata's system when he first wounded her," Shino said, his words logical, but his voice raw.

Sakura nodded, sadly. "Yes and no at the same time. The chakra did as you suggested, Shino, but it is still there. Nagato injected his chakra into Hinata, it's now running through her system, flowing through her own chakra coils and slowly eating away at whatever it comes into contact with. If she had more chakra within her at the time, then she may have been able to overwhelm it, but it's acting to prevent her own chakra production and it does the damage at the same time. At the rate that she is going, Hinata will be dead in four days."

"That's not going to happen," Naruto's voice was filled with an unshakeable certainty. "Shizune-san, can you save her?"

"I'll do my best Naruto."

"No. You won't." The cold, unfeeling voice came from the tent flap, emotionless and cruel, it nevertheless was tinged with the unmistakable air of command.

"Danzo," Shizune hissed. "What do you mean, I won't?" The crippled, bandaged man stepped into the light, revealing him to be wearing a very familiar set of robes. "Simple. Konoha has suffered a mighty blow the village has been destroyed. Our enemies will soon be aware of this fact. Our defences are wiped out, and the terrain is different, which means we no longer have the home field advantage. And Tsunade-sama is out of action. How long before another village hears of this and decides that now is the perfect time to strike? The only thing we have as a deterrent for battle is the number of shinobi that we have ready to fight."

"What does this have to do with you forbidding our teammate medical care?" Kiba asked, loudly. Standing beside him, Akamaru growled.

Danzo looked at him, contempt visible in his single eye. "Numbers. Shizune has enough chakra to heal over a dozen ninja to perfect health. If she attempts to heal the Hyuuga, then she will not be able to heal another. This does not benefit the village. Make no mistake about it this is an order. Any other action will be taken treason."

Naruto wanted to howl, to rage, to rip the man in front of apart. And yet, somehow, there was something stopping him, something that seemed to be influencing him. The same thing that was influencing every person in the room to do exactly as Danzo wanted.

"Hai, Hokage-sama," Shizune spat the reply out, as if she were trying to rid the taste of ashes that came with the words.

Danzo nodded his head, satisfied. "Team 8, what's left of you." Shino and Kiba tensed at his words. "You are to undertake border control. Anyone entering our borders is to be treated as a threat and eliminated. This village and its surrounding area is in lockdown. Naruto-san will accompany you to provide the power needed to take out any threats that you face."

Naruto felt the suggestion, deep within him to do what the Hokage had ordered. But to do that would mean to leave Hinata and that was something that he could not do. He had promised. "No… I won't"

Danzo and his two guards turned to face Naruto, who was still staring at Hinata. "Did you just deny the Hokage's wishes?" asked one of the guards threateningly.

"It would be wise to change your answer," the other guard said.

"No. She was the only one that was there for me when I needed help. Now, I will stay with her when she needs mine. Believe it," Naruto's tone was final and brooked no argument.

"What do you mean?"

"He means, cousin, that he disinclines to acquiesces your request, he refuses, by no means, of course not, not on your life, under no circumstances, never, no already." An angry buzzing could be heard from Shino as he spoke. The masked guard cocked his head at Shino. "I do not understand your reaction, Shino. Hokage-sama's commands are perfectly logical." Shino inclined his head, conceding the point. "That may be so, however at this point of time, logic is not the only thing that I am taking into account."

Torune shook his head. "You are allowing emotions to cloud your judgment Shino. Let them go."

"Like hell!" Kiba yelled.

"These emotions make you weak. Make you care. We are ninja, nothing more than tools, weapons serving our master."

"We are ninja, but we are also human. We are people with loved ones, with family and friends, people who are precious to us. It is those precious people who make our lives worth living and by protecting those precious people, we can become truly strong." Both Fu and Torune snorted at this. Naruto ignored them. "I said that I would stay with her and I never go back on my word."

Danzo cleared his throat and spoke once more. "Nevertheless, the fact remains that you are a ninja and as such, you will obey an order from the Hokage. Are we clear?"

Danzo stared intimidatingly at Naruto, whose blue eyes showed no tinge of fear. "Perfectly," Naruto said. He slowly took of his hiate and tossed it at Danzo. "I resign. I am no longer a ninja and as such, you cannot order me to leave her side."

Shock was evident in the stance of everyone present. "Naruto, what about your dream?" Sakura said. "You'll never be Hokage if you are no longer a ninja."

"My dream was to become Hokage so that everyone would accept me. That happened today. Besides, there are more important things. I gave my word that I would stay with Hinata-chan. I never go back on my word. That is my nindo."

"Fool," Fu said. "You can't have a nindo if you aren't a ninja."

"I've never been the type of person that you think is a ninja, but I will still live by my nindo, that is who I am."

"I will not allow it," Danzo stated. "I refuse to accept your resignation."

"The only way that you can refuse a ninja their resignation is to give them a choice between continued service and execution," Shizune said. Danzo stiffened slightly, mentally cursing the fact that this mere_ boy_ had been able to resist the subtle influence of Shisui's eye.

"Fine," Danzo said, tossing Naruto back his hiate. "Due to your service to the leaf village in defeating Pain, you are given a period of leave in order to rest and recuperate. I will find another to accompany Team 8. But know this. Until further notice, you are to be confined to the village. If you leave, you will be treated as a missing-nin." He turned to face the others. "Meet at the front gate in 3 hours." After speaking, he swept out of the room.

* * *

"Forgive me, Hokage-sama. But why did you not just lock the insolent whelp in prison for a few weeks for refusing your orders?" Fu asked. Danzo walked a little further, his cane thumping on the ground every second step.

"Popularity," Danzo spat the words out with contempt. "Despite everything that I have done for this village, I am still relatively unknown. Naruto is the village hero at the moment. In truth, he has more support than I do at the moment. Would you believe that the young fool was actually nominated as Hokage? If I took any action against him now, almost the entire village would be up in protest. No… we watch, we wait, we bide our time. Besides, this is probably for the best. With more members of the Akatsuki still hunting him and that ridiculous ambition of his to go out and find Sasuke Uchiha, this is probably for the best. The Kyuubi will remain in the village, as a ninja, but only half a ninja. Naruto Uzumaki will one day wish to be a full ninja once more. When that day comes, I will seize the chance to make him the ultimate weapon. _My_ ultimate weapon."

* * *

Naruto stroked Hinata's hand, relieved beyond measure that he still had the comforting weight of his hiate on his forehead. "I'm sorry Naruto," Shizune said, placing her hand on Naruto's shoulder before leaving tent. "It's not your fault," Naruto said quietly. As Shizune left the tent, Naruto turned his gaze to his best friend and crush. "Sakura… is their anything that you can do?" Kiba turned his hopeful eyes towards her, Shino as well. "Alright," she sighed. "But don't get your hopes up. I'm almost tapped out of chakra and something of this scale should be attempted by Tsunade-sama, not me."

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan," Naruto said, hope in his voice once more. "You're just as good as Baa-chan. Just do your best."

Sakura looked towards the ground, eyes downcast. "I'm not you know. Tsunade-sama is still much better than me when it comes to medical jutsu. But I am one of the best," she said hurriedly as Naruto's face fell. "Don't worry Naruto, she'll be fine. That's _my_ promise of a lifetime. I'll get started right away. I just need _you_ to go and get me some of my special soldier pills." After waiting just long enough to hear her directions, Naruto dashed off to find her those pills as Sakura cracked her neck and got to work. He felt so relieved, full of confidence in his friend.

* * *

Five days later saw Naruto weaving towards the Hokage faces, drunker than Tsunade had ever been. Naruto's confidence… had been misplaced. Despite all their efforts, all the hard work and time that had been poured into the cause, Sakura had failed on her promise of a lifetime.

Those first three days, had probably been the worst days of Naruto's life. He had never left her side, staying in her room during both day and night. His mind had been churning the whole time, never able to rest. He had not slept, he had not eaten, even when Sai had come and offered him some Ichiraku ramen. He had stayed seated, still as a statue as he had watched Hinata get weaker and weaker, hoping against hope that she would wake, that Sakura would be able to make some progress. Hoping for a miracle.

The miracle never came. The best that Sakura had been able to do was make sure that Hinata was conscious to say her… goodbyes. Tears ran down Naruto's face as he recalled her final moments. Hinata had died surrounded by her friends. Her father had broken down before her, apologizing over and over again for how he had treated her throughout her life. Hinata had forgiven him. With a small smile on her face, she told him that it was alright, that it didn't matter because no matter what had happened, she had still loved him. Hiashi had started weeping silent tears as he stared down at the young women on the bed.

"So much like your mother," he had whispered. Hinata had a few kind words to say to everyone, the Rookies, her cousin and his team, Kurenai and her sister Hanabi. She made Hanabi swear to her that when she became clan head, she would outlaw the Cage Bird Seal. And then, finally, it had been his turn to… to say goodbye. "You were the first one Hinata-chan. The first one to ever say that you loved me," Naruto whispered to the night sky. How Naruto wished that he'd been able to tell her that to her face. He had been the last one. The last one to speak to her before she slipped away. He had had so much to say, but in the end, he had not been able to say more than three words.

_Flashback_

_Naruto came to Hinata's bedside and stared wordlessly at Hinata's face. So pale, that face. He had never seen it that pale. Always when he saw it, it had been red and flushed. Reaching out his hand, he gently stroked her cheek, laying the palm of his hand against the side of her face. Though incredibly weak, Hinata still had the strength to place her hand on top of his own. Ah, there it was, a little of the colour that so often graced her cheeks, but none of the usual heat. She was cold, so very cold. _

_All of the words that usually came so easily to him simply died in his throat, replaced by a lump that threatened to choke him. Neither of them spoke, instead, they just stared into each other's eyes, lost in the moment, lost in what might have been. And then, the moment was over as Hinata's breaths started to come in gasps and she closed her eyes. "Hinata," Naruto had choked out. She opened her eyes once more and squeezed his hand softly. "Goodbye Naruto-kun. I t-tru-ly did lo-, l-lo," she struggled so hard to get the words out, fighting not shyness, but the cold embrace of death. "I… l-lo-loved… you." A smile graced her beautiful features. Odd, Naruto had never thought of her as beautiful before. Now, as she smiled at her success, staring at him with all the truth and love that filled her lavender eyes, with his hand touching her face, he realized that in all his life he had never seen anything so lovely. Nor would he again. "Hinata-hime," he said, his voice cracking in the middle of the words. Her smile had widened as she stared at him, her breast rising and falling as she breathed in and out. Rising and falling, rising and falling, rising and falling, ris-… _

_Tears started slipping soundlessly down Naruto's face as he watched the light slowly leave her eyes. Hinata Hyuuga gave one final, soft sigh as she slipped away from this world, from __**his**__ world. But her hand never lost its grip on Naruto's. With the tears still running down his face, Naruto leaned forward and gathered her up to his chest, before he kissed her gently on the forehead. _

_Trembling, he reached forward with the hand that was not clutched in hers and gently closed her eyes, hiding those lavender, pearl like orbs. Tilting his head back, Naruto roared to the heavens, his grief made known to the entire village as his voice rose to the sky. His grief at losing one who had been precious to him. Perhaps more precious than he had ever known._

_Flashback end_

* * *

Naruto was crying once more as he cast his mind back to that day. He could hear the whispers of those around him. Not whispers of hate, not anymore. They were worried about him. Kakashi, Sakura, Shizune, the Konohamaru Corps and even Iruka had tried to comfort him. He would not be comforted. It was his fault, all his fault that Hinata was dead.

"Old man Hokage… dead, Sasuke deserted me for power, Jiraiya… dead. Baa-chan's in a coma, Shizune says that there's a strong chance that she'll never come out of it. And now Hinata," he choked, the words dying in his throat.

He looked up once more to see all the anxious faces of both the villagers and the shinobi looking at him. Faces that just a few short years ago, scratch that, a few short _months_ ago had been filled with hate. He laughed bitterly, not caring that his emotions were for once available for all to see.

"Funny isn't it," he muttered under his breath. "Used to be that all I ever wanted was to be accepted. Now I've achieved everything I have ever dreamed of. And I can't help but wish that things were back the way they were."

* * *

Author's Notes. Second Chapter already, I'm on a roll. Anyway, read and review and if any of you felt a little bit emotional while reading I'd appreciate it if you would tell me.


	3. His Father's Scroll

Author's Notes: To all those who have asked, yes, it is a time travel fic. Originally, I thought that by now I would have already have sent Naruto back by now. However, it didn't really work out that way.

Most of the fics that involve time travel involved Naruto moving back almost immediately. That was my original idea as well, but then I started getting into a bit of an angsty part of the story and decided to see where it went. But don't worry, it eventually leads to Naruto gaining a powerful technique to use in conjunction with his clones. One that will help them become a little more than just basic cannon fodder. Hope you enjoy the post.

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto then Naruto would have talked to Hinata about her confession. You know the one I'm talking about. If you don't, then please follow the following steps. Step 1: Please read chapter 1. Step 2: Review. Step 3: Please read chapter 2. Step 4: Review some more. Please, do read, they are kind of essential to the story line. Step 5: If you still do not know the one I'm talking about, please ask yourself: why the heck am I reading this?

* * *

Chapter 3

His Father's scroll

He had stayed with her for hours after she had died, weeping softly, even though his tears had long since dried up. Neji, Hiashi and Hanabi had been the ones to finally take her from him. After they had left, he had stayed where he was, drinking only water, eating just a couple of Sakura's soldier pills a day.

Two days he sat there, with many people coming to talk to him, trying to make him come back to the world of the living. But he would never even speak a word back to them. He would not come back to their world, a world without Hinata in it.

It was his fault, all his fault. Hinata was dead and the only one who was to blame was Uzumaki Naruto. It was Hiashi himself who had came and told him about Hinata's funeral. Naruto came back for that. He had stayed rooted to the spot throughout the entire ceremony, never saying a word to anyone, despite several attempts from people to engage him in conversation, standing like a dead statute.

Once again, Naruto was the last one to say a final goodbye, he only wished that this time, she had been able to hear him. Hinata's grave was covered in white flowers. His had been the only one that was different, a lavender lily. White flowers were so common at a funeral. Naruto had wanted his last gift to the uncommon girl to be something unique. Besides, the flower matched her eyes, at least, when they still burned with the spark of life.

After placing his flower on top of all of the others, Naruto looked up at the bright blue sky. It made him angry. With moisture welling up in his eyes, he cursed the cloud free heavens, absently noting that it appeared as if he still had some tears left to cry. It had been raining during the Old Man Hokage's funeral. It had rained when he had found out about Jiraiya's death. Why was it that the heaven's did not weep at Hinata's funeral?

Hinata had been good and kind, always doing so much to help others. She had been a rarity in this hate filled world. And yet, as she was lowered into her grave, the sun still smiled down upon the world. Did the heavens not care for one of their own? He left as he came, never saying a word. Alone. He wanted to be left alone. They would not leave him alone.

* * *

But now, five days after his victory and Hinata's injury, he was alone. It had taken a while to get rid of his friends, but he had done it, eventually. Even after he walked into that dingy little bar, they had still tried to be with him. Naruto sniffed, starting to feel just a little guilty. They were true friends, but he had needed to be alone, alone to come to terms with his grief.

He had thought that the drink might help and had asked them to join him. They had been a bit hesitant at first, at least, until Kiba had joined Naruto with a bottle of sake. After that, most of them had soon joined in. They had matched him drink for drink, trying to push away their own grief. Aside from Naruto and Neji, Kiba and Shino were the hardest hit. After all, Hinata had been team mate, but she had been so much more than that. She had been their friend, their little sister. And now she was gone.

Those two lasted the longest, out of the entire group. After a while, Kiba and surprisingly, Shino, had begun to talk to each other and to Naruto about Hinata. The missions that they had been on together, the good times shared, as well as the bad, the people that they had met, the times of laughter and joy, the times of tears and bonding. Naruto just sat and listened, letting their words wash over him as he burned the images they reproduced deep into his mind. Never forget. He never wanted to forget a thing about her. Then, they began talking to him about what he had done for Hinata.

"She never gave up, no matter how hard the obstacles in front of her may have seemed," Shino said, his voice more than a little bit slurred. "She said that you had inspired her, not with just your words, but with the way that you lived your life. So she never stopped trying to improve herself. Not only as a ninja, but as a person as well." Kiba nodded, almost falling of his stool as he did so.

"Yah don't know how many times I found out that she had been crying because of all the shit that her family always seemed to be dealing out to her. I don' know if she would have ever been able to deal with it if it weren't for you. A whole heap of it came from Neji" at this, Kiba gave the unconscious Neji a kick in the side, "when he was still a stuck up bastard with a stick the size of a holy log up his ass. But after you beat that fate crap out of him and some sense into him, things started to change. Her family started to resemble an actual family if you know what I mean. There've only ever been a few times when I saw her that happy," he finished, downing the last of his bottle.

"You helped her so much, without ever being aware of it," Shino said. "Thank you," the last of Team 8 said in one voice.

Naruto had bowed his head down and wept at that, not caring that they could see. They had drank some more after that and talked, then drank a whole lot more. But now, as far as Naruto knew, he and Lee were the only ones that were not in some form of alcohol induced coma. Except for Sakura, of course, but she hadn't joined in with the rest of them. Something about the fact that she had seen Tsunade drunk way too many times.

Stepping over Neji and Tenten, Naruto had moved over to Lee's twitching form and pried open an eyelid. Yep, he was unconscious, from exhaustion, that is. When the group had walked into the building, the bartender took one look at Lee's green spandex clad form and had been reduced to a gibbering wreck. Apparently, he had already had prior experience to Lee's drunken... habits.

He had only agreed to serve them on the condition that Lee was not to touch alcohol in any type, shape or form. Literally, he wasn't allowed to touch the stuff. The bartender had thrown a fit after he saw Lee pass Choji a bottle of Sake. Not wanting to be left out, Lee had proclaimed that he would do a hundred push ups for every bottle of alcohol that Naruto had. By the time he had passed out, he was one, maybe two thousand push ups behind. Naruto wasn't quite sure how far behind he was now. Alcohol was a poison and like any other poison, Naruto burnt it out of his system quickly, too quickly.

* * *

Naruto had then left the bar and started walking down the street, a slight weave in his steps. But still, there were people trying to talk to him. He needed to go away, just for a little while, where he would not be found. But where?

Naruto never actually made a conscious decision of where to go, he just followed his feet; so it was with great surprise that he found himself walking towards the top of the Hokage monument. But no matter, he knew where he was going now.

There was an old house further in, on the plains that made up a part of the mountain. Just over sixteen years ago, it had belonged to Minato Namikaze, fourth Hokage of Konoha. It was kind of funny in an ironic sort of way. Naruto had always looked up to the Fourth as his hero, one who had sacrificed his life for the village he loved. As such, he had devoured any and all information on the Fourth that he could find.

Naruto knew much about Minato the Hokage, but hardly anything about Minato the man and nothing at all about Minato the Father. His father. Walking up to the door, the Fourth's Legacy tried to open it. It was locked, of course, it had been locked for sixteen years. Naruto tried the handle again, this time shaking the door violently. A seal slowly etched itself onto the door, before a red ink started oozing its way across the lines of the seal reminding one of the way blood travelled across skin from an open wound. Finally the seal was complete a blood red in color, almost as if it were warning him. Naruto stared at the seal for a short while. Taking out a kunai, he closed his hand around it and pulled, not caring how deeply it cut.

Naruto looked absently at the palm of his hand and his fingers, watching as his blood welled up from the cuts, before slowly moving down the palm of his hand. The way that that seal had applied itself had been telling him something, it had to have been. Naruto stretched forth his hand and placed it on the center of the seal. Slowly, the seal changed color, becoming steadily brighter before it exploded in a bright flash of yellow, to reveal… nothing. There was no change, his blood no longer even marked the door, but amazingly, the cut on his hand had already healed and this time, it had not been because of the foxes chakra. Once more, Naruto tried the handle. It turned. The door opened.

* * *

Dust covered every surface, the dust of sixteen years worth of abandonment. It didn't take him very long to look around the place. The kitchen was neat and tidy, with a granite bench for cooking and a gas stove. A set of knives hung above the stove, each one on their own hook. Walking over to them, he took the biggest down off of its hook. It was still sharp.

Next Naruto turned to the walk in pantry. When he opened the first cupboard door, Naruto laughed out loud, for the first time in days. There, stacked upon one another, squeezed together, was a cupboard that was completely stocked, of instant ramen. Chuckling slightly, he went throughout the rest of the house. His mother and father had kept a very tidy place. Soon, there were only two rooms left to look at. The master bedroom and his fathers study. He went to the bedroom first.

The bed was unmade. For some reason, this made Naruto extremely happy, while at the same time sad. Here, in this room, was evidence of his parents lives. They had been here, in this very room, they had slept in this very bed. A lump rose in his throat as he noticed the crib that had been placed at the right hand side of the bed. His crib. This was where he may have stayed if life had turned out differently. Swallowing, he turned back to his parent's bed. The sheets were still crinkled and most of the covers had been pulled over to right side, the side closest to his crib.

On each side of the bed stood a small chest of drawers, with a lamp on each surface. He moved to the one closest to the crib. Only now, did he notice the katana balanced between the bed and the drawers. He'd take a look at that later. Carefully, Naruto opened the first drawer. It had obviously belonged to a female. His mother. That indicated that it was his mother who had the habit of hogging all the covers to herself. Naruto wondered briefly what his father thought of that habit. _'Maybe that's why she's got a katana lying next to her bed within easy reach,'_ he thought, chuckling a little at the mental image it produced.

Sitting down on the bed, he lay the katana on his knees and bared about half of the blade from its sheath. Made with exceptional craftsmanship, the steel had a blue tinge to it. Naruto's eyebrows raised. Not only that, it seemed as if the entire thing had been forged out of that insanely expensive chakra conducting metal, which had been layered many, many times over. Fishing around in his pocket, Naruto came across an unused tissue. Sakura had made him carry a bunch of them around with him stating that he shouldn't use his sleeve, which he had been doing a lot whenever he thought of… Naruto stopped his train of thought. Holding the tissue over the blade, he let it float softly down into the edge, which parted it effortlessly. Still razor sharp, the blade bore obvious signs of use, sweat stains could be seen on the red leather grip of the hilt, which matched the scabbard, but it had been extremely well maintained. Breathing out gently, Naruto slid the blade back into its sheath and turned to the first open drawer containing his mother's belongings.

Tenderly, Naruto took out each item, holding it as if it were a treasure beyond price. A rope of pearls, with a large pink one in the centre. Matching earrings, a jewellery box. His mother had liked pretty things, either that or his dad had liked buying them for her Naruto gently opened the jewellery box, wincing slightly at the squeak that came from the hinges. He didn't he remove each item, instead, he just trailed his fingers over them gently, content to just look them over.

At the very back of the first drawer, Naruto found his mother's hairbrush. It was a cheap thing, built for usability, not beauty, but there was one thing that made it very important to Naruto. His mother had used it and often and as of such, it still had some of her hair caught in the brush's bristles. "My mother had red hair," Naruto whispered.

In the second drawer down were three bottles of perfume, two of them were open and one of them had never been used. They were all the same brand and make. They must have been his mothers favorite. Stuffed next to and underneath the perfume was a large number of woollen gloves and the occasional scarf, making a nest for the delicate little glass bottles. Included in this were several pairs of booties and baby gloves. Apparently, his mother got cold in the evening. Taking one of the gloves, he splayed against his own hand, noting with a smile how much larger his hands were than the glove. His mother had had delicate, small hands, although, judging from the sweat stains on the katana's hilt, maybe not so delicate. Sword work like that was bound to get you calluses. Next, Naruto took one of the used bottles of perfume and sprayed it on his wrist before taking a small sniff. His face paled. Stiffly, almost woodenly, he replaced the lid and put the perfume back into the drawer. It bore the smell of lilacs, lavender as well as another scent that he could not identify. What were the odds that his mother would have worn the same type of perfume as Hinata? Naruto closed the drawer and without looking at the third and final drawer, moved over to his father's side of the bed.

* * *

His dad's drawers were quite different. He had no jewelry in them for one. Instead, in his first drawer was a well-read, highly creased copy of "Tales of a Gutsy Ninja," written by Ero-sennin. A picture of Minato's team was also there, with Kakashi in the center of the photo and two others that Naruto could not identify. Next to the picture was what looked like a weird kunai, with three distinct prongs. Naruto picked it up and ran his finger along the edge. "Ah! Still sharp," he muttered sticking his finger into his mouth and sucking, wondering absentmindedly if there was some kind of seal on the house that kept those things inside sharp.

There were some other miscellaneous items in the second drawer, but what Naruto's eyes were immediately drawn to was a Jiraiya sized box of condoms. Naruto blushed. He knew about the birds and the bees, thanks to a _very_ embarrassing session with Jiraiya during his three-year training trip, but surely it was unhealthy to think of your parents doing that! _'I mean come on! That box is more than half empty!' _Naruto thought, waving his hands in front of him as if they could somehow prevent the mental trauma. Although, come to think of it, Pervy Sage's box never got that empty. Apart from that one time that when he had run out of water balloons for rasengan training and found out that the replacements that Jiraiya had given him were actually... _'Yeah… let's not go there…' _That was what had originally brought up that highly embarrassing conversation in the first place, well, that and his reaction. The only consolation for him was that for once the old pervert seemed to be more embarrassed than he was! He had got so flustered that he had turned a brighter shade of red than… than… Hinata.

* * *

Naruto left the bedroom, travelling to the only other room left in the house that he had not already inspected. It looked as if this had been his father's study. There was a window looking out to a view of Konoha. Naruto stopped for a moment and just looked out at his home. The sun had started to set, bathing the village in liquid golden light. Smoke could be seen rising from the chimneys of several houses. It blew and fluttered in the breeze, catching the light in its own unique way, making patterns across the village. The sunlight reflected strongly off of several reflective surfaces, creating silver gems of light, which were randomly scattered across the village. His home was a beautiful place, that much could be easily seen. Or at least, that is what he imagined could have once been seen.

Now, his father's study no longer looked over the village that he had once sworn to protect as its Hokage. All that remained was a crated, gouged roughly into the ground. That, and the rubble and debris of what had once been the homes and livelihoods of the thousands that had made up the strongest of the Hidden Villages. No longer the tall buildings, the straight roads and the winding streets. No longer the beautiful gardens that had studded the area, relieving the sometime monotonous background of the village life. _'No more Ichiraku stand either!' _But that wasn't really all that important. The village could and would be rebuilt; it would just take time. And time was not important, only life was important. Naruto smiled a bit as he could easily see the tent city that had sprung up in the crater from here. It was even possible to see the piles of lumber that had been brought in for the builders to work with. There were even a couple of rows of houses that Captain Yamato had apparently built using his wood jutsu. Although, those houses did bring a slightly sour taste to his mouth: he had been told that Danzo, the elders and that most of the civilian council had taken those houses for their own. But all that he could see from here pointed toward the incontrovertible truth. Konoha lived on. Its people lived on. At least… most of them did.

With a sigh, Naruto turned his attention to the rest of the room. He stiffened: there was something wrong with this room. Every other room in the house had been reasonably clean and organized. Not this one. Both of the walls on his left and right side had bookcases at the walls. The one on the left only had a bookcase running from a meter and a half above the floor to the ceiling, a desk was underneath it. Another big desk this time was underneath the window overlooking Konoha. The bookcase on the right of the room went from floor to ceiling. But something had happened in here. The room had scrolls tossed onto the floor, books thrown into corners of the room. Files had been emptied, drawers were left open. It looked as if the room had been ransacked.

Rushing hurriedly into the room, Naruto bent down and picked up a scroll, before unrolling it. Wind Style: Void. These were jutsu scrolls and by the looks of them, quite valuable. If a thief had broken in looking for something valuable, then there was no way that he, or she, would have left something like this just lying around. Which meant that his first, panicked guess of the mess being caused by a burglar breaking in was unfounded. But still, the room had been trashed and if someone that was looking for some jutsu to add to their collection didn't do it, then it must have been someone that his parents had trusted. Hell, his father himself probably did it. A sudden thought brought him to the realization that he might have been a bit hasty with his jumping to conclusions. How would a thief have got through the security seals anyway? No it had probably been his father. But whoever it was they had obviously gone through the scrolls and books that had probably once been neatly arranged on their shelves, searching for something in particular.

Naruto looked around the room, trying to read the story that was there for anyone who could tell the signs. Moving from left to right on the shelves that surrounded the study, someone had started by flicking through the scrolls that were stacked together. As they went along, the person had started taking out the scrolls and putting them on the desk below the shelves. Then they seemed to get frantic, throwing stuff to the ground as they ripped through the scrolls and books that were on the shelves, finally finding whatever it was that they were looking for on the right hand wall. They had then swept _everything_ that had originally been on the desk onto the floor, spreading a specific scroll onto the desk, weighing it down with some kunai.

Curiously, Naruto stepped towards the desk and had a look at the scroll that had been searched for so frantically. His eyes widened and an expression of hope crossed his features. Grabbing the scroll, he ran outside. This scroll could solve everything, if he used its contents correctly. Now, Naruto would learn another one of his father's original jutsu and once more, he would make it his own.

* * *

Authors Notes: Another chapter done. Sorry about the cliffhanger, but it seemed like a good way to end the chapter. So... What is in the final drawers of Naruto's mother and father contain? Can anyone guess what unknown jutsu is written within the mysterious scroll? Anyway, I thought it would be good to get this chapter out today. After all, it's my Birthday! 20 years old today… Sigh, I'm old. Ah well, read and review. Please review… it can be a birthday present ^_^


	4. To Go Back

Author's Note: Wow, thanks to everybody who has taken an interest in my story so far, and it's just my first fanfic! Sorry this chapter took a little longer to come out than the last one, but I've made it a little longer to make up for it. Anyway, hope you enjoy it. Next one might take even longer, exams are coming up…

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I once claimed that I did, only to have Hinata chase with a Katana. Apparently, Naruto was hers and she would inflict grievous bodily harm on those who said otherwise.

* * *

Chapter 4

To go Back

Naruto unrolled the blueprints of the Shiki Fujin Seal out onto the grass in front of him. This seal had been the cause of so much pain and anguish in his life. On October 10th, sixteen years ago, Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage had used this technique to seal the Kyuubi no Kitsune inside of him. That was the way that all jinchuriki were created, by having a bijuu sealed inside of them. But different bijuu had different strengths, which meant that the strength of the seal had to be proportionate to the strength of the demon. The Fox was the most powerful of all the Tailed Beasts, known by some as the King of the Bijuu. As off such, one of the most powerful seals in existence was used to contain the Kyuubi within Naruto. To be precise, the Shiki Fujin Seal. But it was not without a cost: the Shiki Fujin seal worked by summoning the Shingami, the Death God himself. Then working together, the Fourth Hokage and the Death God acted in concert to seal the Kyuubi within Naruto, using the Yondaime's own life force to power the jutsu. But the important part of this jutsu, the part that Naruto was interested in, was the fact that it first acted to summon the Shingami to the mortal plane… Slowly, Naruto began forming the necessary hand seals. "SHIKI FUJIN," Naruto roared out, slamming his hands against the ground.

Nothing happened, at least, at first. Naruto only had to wait for a short while before the very air around him began to grow cold. The shadows lengthened and darkened, seemingly reaching out like a certain Nara's jutsu. But the malevolent intent that came with those shadows made one thing perfectly clear. Whatever was the cause of this darkness, it was not human. The light dimmed, becoming fainter and fainter, seemingly being eaten by the shadows themselves. Then, the darkness began began to converge, seemingly building up on top of itself, rising up into a single black mound. Slowly, ever so slowly, the mound began taking shape, the shape of a man. Firs the the limbs could be distinguished, the head. Slowly, ever so slowly, details began to become visible. Finally, it was finished and a man stepped forth from the shadows. Or at least, it looked like a man. A black cloak covered the figure completely, with a hood thrown over his face, leaving it in shadow, no, not just shadow, it was more like an abyss. Clutched in a bony hand was a large scythe, so sharp that seemed to Naruto as if it would cut you if you simply looked at it. The scythe was held in the figure's left hand. But such a hand… Death had already touched that hand. Only small strips of rotted flesh clung to the otherwise stripped clean bone. The figure raised his other hand slowly to his hood, before throwing it back suddenly, revealing the empty eye sockets with a cold light burning behind them, the yellowed teeth that were in a death's head grin and the empty pit where a nose had once been. A feeling of such malice filled the area, such malevolence, that Naruto almost shouted out in fear. Yet something stopped him.

"Why are you wearing reading glasses?"

With a startled look, the figure whipped the glasses off his face, revealing another surprising feature to Naruto. "Your fingers are ink-stained…"

Folding his arms, the figure spoke. "_Who are you to summon Death_."

Naruto looked at the scroll once more, cursing under his breath, apparently, he had not done the jutsu correctly.

"Errrmm… Wrong number?" Naruto said, slightly embarrassed. The figure blinked.

"_Well, who exactly were you looking for? The God of the Dead?_" Naruto nodded.

Almost excitedly, the figure leaned forward. _"Now, don't tell me which aspect you're looking for. I'll figure it out myself."_ He began walking around Naruto, sizing him up. _"Let's see, idealistic, always keeps his word obviously the hero type with the body of a Greek g… I KNOW! YOUR'E LOOKING FOR HADES!"_ At this, the figure changed into a tall, ripped man with long, black, slightly greasy hair, wearing a black toga that had tortured faces moving within the fabric, with a black helmet under his arm and a sword at his waist. "No?" Naruto shook his head, consternation clear on his face. _"Alright, well, you're a bit short, but with that warrior light in those blue eyes and that blonde hair, you must be a Viking… so you're looking for Hela, right?"_

"No," Naruto interrupted.

_"Damn, you're not Egyptian, so Anubis is out. You didn't recognize the Grim Reaper and I doubt you're an African so…"_

"I was born in Konoha!" Naruto shouted out feeling slightly annoyed. At this, the figure stilled, before turning into the Shingami himself. The scythe changed into a knife, which he clenched between his teeth. The teeth were set in the face of a demon. Shinigami's clothes became a sickly white in colour.

"_Konoha you say… oh, that's right, I can see the hiate now. Tell me, do you know anything about a disturbance that happened here about five days ago? A great commotion happened within my realm,"_ the Shingami spoke casually, as if the answer to his question had no importance.

"You're the Shingami?" Naruto asked. The figure nodded.

_"Sorry about earlier, I have a multiple personality disorder. Answer the question."_

"NO! Give me back…"

_"Answer the question first, then we'll carry on with this conversation,_" the statement was said in a pleasant tone, yet there was something that caused even the Knuckleheaded Ninja to shut his mouth. "_Now, did anything unusual happen five days ago?"_

"Oh yeah, that was Nagato, he used a resurrection technique at the cost of his own life."

_"And he did this why?_"

"Because of me."

A rough sound seemed to come from the Shingami, it was only later that Naruto realised he had been grinding his teeth. "_Alright, now, what was it that you wanted?"_

"Give me back Hinata-chan!"

_"THAT'S IT!"_ the Shingami exploded. "_You're the reason why I'm up to my eyebrows in paperwork with that stunt that you pulled getting so many souls out of the underworld. Do you have any fucking idea how many forms I have to fill out for every bloody person who ends up dead in the first place? And then not only do they become immediately useless, but I have to fill them in anyway, cause they did actually die and then there's like twelve times the amount of crap that I've got to fill out for every person that lives again and then you come and ask me to add to that burden? Actually, you didn't even bother to bloody well ask now did you? Instead, you come with you're demands and insist that I use __my__ power to give you back you're loved one."_ Naruto blushed suddenly at the word 'loved.' _"And to top it off, you don't even use the right summoning method. This is the Shiki Fujin seal! What did you want to seal?"_ the demand was angry and by this time, the Shingami had yelled so much that he had gone red in the face, although, thanks to his original colour, he was now a startling pink in colour.

"Nothing," Naruto said, trying hard not to cower from the huge killing intent that he was being subjected to.

The Shingami nodded with an evil smile. "_Done. And now I take my payment. Your soul."_ As he said it, the Shingami _flickered_ appeared before Naruto and plunged his hand into Naruto's stomach.

* * *

A cold such as Naruto had never before experienced before in his life seemed to pervade every fibre of his being emanating from his stomach. An unearthly power started acting against him. Naruto felt his strength begin to drain as he fell down to his knees. He had failed and now he was going to die all because he did not think things through. A horrible thought occurred to him. The ones who died from this jutsu would be sealed within the Shingami's stomach. Even in death, he would not get to apologise to Hinata.

"**WELL SHIT KIT, YOU REALLY HAVE A TALENT FOR PISSING PEOPLE OFF."**

That voice, Naruto knew that voice. Liquid fire started rushing down his veins, combating the killing cold. Naruto groaned, in that instant becoming so much more than just a human, he was a battleground, the meeting between to great oceans as two powers as old as the world itself warred within him. Pain, an overwhelming pain rushed through his body wherever hot met cold. But slowly, the fire won out. Pushing against that unearthly power, it finally reached its originating point and with a howl reminiscent to pain, the Shingami pulled his hand out of Naruto's stomach.

"**OH YEAH! I STILL GOT IT BABY! MAN WHAT A RUSH! COMING OUT ON TOP IN A BATTLE WITH THE SHINGAMI HIMSELF! AHHH! WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME I DID SOMETHING LIKE THAT?" **the Kyuubi no Kitsune cried out, inside Naruto's head, who was able to hear him because of the large amounts of demon chakra pumping through his body.

"Kyuubi…" Naruto said.

"**WHAT?" **the fox yelled slightly upset that Naruto had interrupted his euphoric rant. After all, it wasn't often that he came up against an adversary that he actually considered his equal.

"Thanks."

The fox was shocked; it was not often that his jailer ever expressed anything resembling gratitude. **"YOU'RE WELCOME."**

In the meantime, the Shingami was shaking his arm cursing underneath his breath. It was a bright, cherry red in colour. His other hand however, was pressed against his belly. Still swearing, he changed into an ordinary, if overly handsome, man, before popping the cap of what looked like a bottle of antacids and chugging the entire contents. _"You're a jinchuriki aren't you?"_ Naruto nodded. The Shingami swore loudly. _"I guess you aren't as stupid as you look. You must have known that I can't come into contact with one of the immortals."_

"Riiiiighhht…" Naruto said. The Shingami didn't notice his confusion, as he continued to rub his stomach.

"_This must be one of the biggest cases of indigestion I've ever had… You wouldn't happen to know anybody in here would you?"_

"Yeah, Minato Namikaze and Old Man Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi."

The Shingami froze. _"What did you say you're name was?"_

"Naruto Uzumaki."

The Shingami flinched. "_Well crap, that was close."_

"What do you mean?"

Shingami snorted. _"Well isn't it obvious? I tried to eat the Chosen one, can you imagine how much paperwork I'd have to fill in for something like that? Then there's the fact that if you die, the upcoming Fourth Shinobi War will be lost, hundred's of thousands will end up dead and the Eye of the Moon plan will succeed, or would it, after all, they wouldn't have the Kyuubi, so they wouldn't be able to resurrect the Juubi… Until the Kyuubi reformed… Not to mention I'd never get a chance at that son of a bitch Madara's dirty old soul_."

"Does that mean that you'll help me?" Naruto asked, hope once more in his voice.

_"No."_

Anger flashed in Naruto's eyes. "Come on! You were willing to kill me just for the sake of a little bit of extra paperwork!"

_"Don't call it a little extra paperwork. That shit is the paperwork from hell! Literally!"_

"If you don't help me, I'll find another way, even if it means I have to kill myself, I will!"

Shingami looked at Naruto, humour in his eyes. _"No you wouldn't. You've still got to many promises to complete in this world. But why would you go that far?"_

Naruto sighed and sank to the ground. "I don't know. My parents died when I was just a baby and I was a jinchuriki. I never received any love as a kid. I was always so lonely. I sometimes got beaten; I never had any friends until after I became a genin. I did so much to earn acceptance from those around me, but even when I was hated by most of those around me, there was one person who always looked up to me. That person was Hinata. I'm almost seventeen years old and Hinata was the first one who ever said that she loves me. She loved me. And I failed her. Because of me, she's dead." A look of determination came across his face. "So I'm willing to do whatever it takes. Do you hear me? No matter what the cost, I'll pay it, as long as I get her back."

"Oh, be a dear Gami-kun, give the boy back his girlfriend." Both Naruto and the Shingami jumped into the air at the sound of the very feminine voice behind them. They turned to see a beautiful woman behind them. Shingami sighed. "Naruto, meet my wife." If Naruto were ever asked to describe her, he would say that he was completely unable to put to words such a beauty, although the real cause may have been self-memory manipulation, since the Shingami specifically stated that if he ever had perverted thoughts about his wife, he would wake up one morning and find himself castrated. "She's not my girlfriend, Mrs?"

"Oh, call me Arlia, dear."

The Shingami sighed._ "That's not her real name. Names have power among those as powerful as us. Why did you think that the Kyuubi is always called by a title rather than a name?"_

"Anyway, you say she's not your girlfriend? Why? The girl said she loved you and you obviously have some kind of feelings for her, otherwise why are you going through all this trouble to get her back?"

"I don't know what I feel for her. She's a friend sure and I would do anything for my friends. As for the trouble, well, I never really planned any of this. After I saw the scroll it all just seemed to… happen."

"You mean you summoned my husband, the God of Death himself… on a whim?"

Naruto put his hand behind his neck and scratched, wearing a rueful grin on his face. "Well when you put it that way it does seem kind of stupid. But I thought that there was chance that this would work, so I didn't need to think about it anymore."

Arlia turned what seemed remarkably similar to the dreaded 'puppy dog eyes no jutsu' on the Shingami, who winced visibly. "_Dammit woman! It's not that fucking easy!"_

"**What did you say to me?"** her voice was quiet, but the Shingami himself, God of the Death, Lord of the Underworld, King of the Dead and Prince of Darkness, cowered before his wife's angry gaze.

_"I mean, I'm dreadfully sorry, my beloved, but I am afraid that what you are asking of me can simply not be done. I'm Lord of the Dead, unfortunately, when I took the job, the small print in the contract stated that I could not send someone back of my own accord, it would set an extremely dangerous precedent."_

Arlia stared at Naruto and he felt himself being weighed, measured and examined in hundreds of different ways. This woman seemed to look at his very soul. "It needs to be done. With this burden added to the rest of them that he carries, he will not be able to win the upcoming war. He will fail and the world will fall."

The Shingami cursed and muttered under his breath. Naruto was fairly certain he heard the word 'paperwork' somewhere in the middle of his rant. _"Well that sucks."_

"Really," Naruto said sarcastically. "Does that mean that you won't help me?"

"No of course we'll help you won't we Gami-kun," Arlia said, turning with a smile to the Shingami, or 'Gami-kun.' He winced at the nickname before speaking.

_"I told you dear, it's not that simple. I am physically unable to let one loose from my kingdom. It is an impossibility."_

"What about a resurrection technique?" Arlia asked. The Shingami just looked at her, then looked at Naruto.

_"Do you know any resurrection techniques?"_ Naruto shook his head. "So t_hat's a no go as well. Besides, he only time a resurrection technique doesn't cost you your own life is if you have the rinnegan. He doesn't so if he used one, he'd end up dead and the world is doomed anyway."_

"Well that's just great, isn't it? What else am I supposed to do? Turn back time to when Hinata was still alive?" Naruto asked sarcastically.

Arlia looked excited. "Dear?" The Shingami however, just shook his head a slightly evil gleam in his eyes.

"I_t wouldn't work. The Time Travel Technique requires chakra, something that I don't have anymore. It was taken from me when I kidnapped you to be my wife."_

Naruto latched on to the idea with a fierce determination. "What about my chakra? You can use mine to power the jutsu." Shingami just snorted.

_"Kid, you ain't got near enough chakra to go back a single day. And the fox's chakra sealed inside of you is good enough for maybe six more days. And even if you got the rest of it, that only leaves you with what, one more day to prepare? This is a once off technique, kid, it only works one time per person. With only one more day, the end result will be the same."_

Naruto glared at him. "Give me three, maybe four days and I'll come to you with enough power to get the job done." The Shingami laughed and laughed at him, before Arlia socked him one in the stomach, then he just crouched over and wheezed. _"It's not going to happen kid, even if you do gain the necessary power, which you won't. Kami will put me into all sorts of shit if I help you with this. Not happening._" Naruto frowned, then an evil grin spread across his features.

"Arlia, can I speak to you for a second?" Nodding, the Shingami's wife stopped pouting at her husband and came over to Naruto, who whispered into her ear.

"Ooh I like that," Arlia giggled. "Alright sweety, I'm in."

"Shingami! I Naruto Uzumaki, swear by my father's memory that if you do not help me, then I will not succeed in fulfilling the prophecy. The world will fall and Kami will blame you. The paperwork that you'll be landed with will be of proportions that you have not seen in all your millennia."

"And I say that if you don't help him, then you'll be sleeping on the couch for the next twenty years," Arlia threatened him.

The Shingami looked from one to another. _"I've had people offer me all the wealth they possess, heroes have entered my realm trying to steal from me, people have sold me their souls, or those of their wife, daughter, mother, brother son father or sister, dark rituals have been held in my honour, with countless human sacrifices and in all the thousands of years that this has been happening, there has not been a single person who has got the best of me. And now you come along, Naruto Uzumaki, with the threat of making me do more paperwork and convincing my wife not to give me any for twenty years. That's the best you can do? That's what you're going to blackmail me with?"_

Naruto nodded. "Yep."

The Shingami sighed. _"Damn you're good. I'll see you in four days. Call out for me when you have the power at the ready and I shall come before you to help you on your way."_

* * *

Naruto was searching the campsite, looking for one of two men. If he was going to do this, he would need their help. All of a sudden, he heard cries of horror and pain, with one man screaming "My eyes! My eyes!" repeatedly. By the sounds of things, he had found both of them. Ignoring the hideous sights around him, he pulled Lee and Guy apart, for the first time in history breaking the Ultimate Sunset Genjutsu. "Green beasts of Konoha! I have a favour to ask of you."

Slightly annoyed at being broken apart, Guy looked at who had been foolish enough to do so, intending on insisting that they join him for a days training… When he saw who it was, he forgot about his earlier intentions. It was Naruto, who once more had the fires of youth burning in his eyes. He would do anything he could to help the youthful Hero of Konoha! "We'll do whatever we can to help you Naruto. Consider your favour already done. That's a promise!" Guy exclaimed, ending his speech with his thumb up, almost blinding the onlookers with the glint of light coming off his teeth. The 'Nice Guy' pose. They were now bound to keep their word.

"Thank you Guy-Sama. I need you and Lee to teach me how to use the Hachimon."

* * *

Three days later, Naruto moved to the largest of the intact training grounds, a forest area with a great deal of life within it. He had done it. Although Guy and Lee were harsh taskmasters, using the Hachimon was surprisingly easy after you got the hang of opening the first three gates. Opening the first one was actually the hardest task of all. It had taken him almost half a day to learn how to do that. Well, half a day with just over three thousand kage bunshin working alongside of him. Both Lee and Guy had been amazed at his progress, before he told them that he had effectively done over four years worth of training. He could create a whole lot more clones using sage mode if he didn't use any as spare 'batteries' to store nature chakra. He had created so many that Yamato-sensei had been afraid that he would not be able to keep up if any of them went Kyuubi. But with both of the Green Beasts there to help, any clone looking as if he was starting to get some more fox-like characteristics quickly went 'poof.' Naruto could use the Hachimon now. But he needed more power than just the gates could provide. Naruto snorted at himself thinking that he needed more power, quickly running through his mind to check if was starting to resemble a certain Emo Uchiha. No? Good. Luckily, he knew how he could get it.

Moving towards the centre of a clearing, Naruto sat down on a large boulder that stood within the middle of the area and set a small container in front of him. Getting into a meditative stance, he breathed deeply, forcing his body to be perfectly still. _'First Gate – Gate of Opening – Open.' _Naruto could feel the rush of power that flowed throughout his body. _'Gate of Healing – Open.' _He could feel the amount of chakra he contained multiplying within him. _'Gate of Life – Open.'_ By now, his skin had turned red from the increase in blood flow. _'Gate of Pain – Open.'_ After passing this point, any more movements would begin to tear his muscles apart a but thanks to his sage training he was able to remain completely immobile. _'Gate of Closing – Open.' _It was becoming so much harder now to stay still. All the energy within him made him feel full, almost bursting to release it. _'Gate of Joy – Open.'_ Cracks shot through the boulder Naruto was sitting on as he opened the sixth gate. Suddenly, Naruto felt himself get pulled into his own mindscape.

"**WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" **Kyuubi asked, sounding ahhh… slightly miffed. Even more so than usual.

"Getting power so that I can use that time travel jutsu so that I can save Hinata."

"**YOU FOOL, IF YOU OPEN ALL THE GATES, YOU'LL KILL US BOTH!"**

Naruto just shook his head. "Not right away. Guy said that most men could last at least three minutes after opening the Gate of Death. With my healing factor, I can more than triple that time. Plenty enough for me to gather all the power I need. Gate of Wonder – Open!"

"**MAD. YOU TRULY ARE MAD. DON'T YOU REALISE THAT IN THE LAST FEW SECONDS OF YOUR LIFE, I'LL BREAK FREE OF THIS ACCURSED PRISON AND LAY WASTE TO ALL AROUND ME?"**

Naruto smiled. "Nice try Furball, but the Gate of Death causes your heart to explode. Death is pretty much instantaneous."

Kyuubi snarled menacingly at him. **"DAMN YOU! DON'T YOU REALISE THAT EVEN IF YOU OPEN **_**ALL**_** THE GATES YOU STILL WON'T HAVE ENOUGH POWER TO GO FAR ENOUGH BACK IN TIME?"**

"I know. So you're going to help me. Gate of Death – open." As Naruto said these words, he once more became conscious of the world around him. A great pillar of blue chakra had shot up into the air, visible to everyone from miles around. Chakra seemed to be leaking off of him, in quantities great enough to create a pseudo-jinchuriki. Many shinobi were by now on the way to see what the cause of this disturbance was. Naruto quelled the urge to smirk. It would take them a while to get here. He, and as many clones as possible, had been making as many traps as possible. Although non lethal, there was such a great number of them that the area was practically inaccessible.

Re-entering his mindscape, Naruto walked toward the doors of the cage and stood before the great gate. "So what do you say Kyuubi? Want to help me?" Without waiting for an answer, Naruto ripped the paper seal off the doors of the cage.

With a howl of joy, the Kyuubi leapt forward, sending _all _of his chakra towards Naruto, intent on taking over the foolish mortal and gaining his freedom. **"FOOL! DON'T YOU REALISE THAT I CAN STILL HEAL YOUR BODY BEFORE TAKING IT OVER,"** he yelled gleefully. All of a sudden, the fox frantically began trying to withdraw his chakra, but Naruto held on to it with all his might. "Gotcha!" Naruto said with a satisfied grin on his face.

As soon as he had removed the seal, Naruto had started drawing sage chakra into his body. The seal had been removed: _all _the chakra of the Nine Tailed Fox was set loose within him. "But you're chakra comes in two forms doesn't it Furball? Chakra and Will. It was your Will that kept on trying to take over my body, but if you use your Will now, then I'll move and we'll both end up being a large stone toad. You wouldn't like that now would you? The legend of the Kyuubi no Kitsune finished with him becoming a petrified amphibian."

"**CURSE YOU."**

Naruto chuckled to himself as he felt the Kyuubi's chakra meld with his own physical and spiritual chakra. If he went into sage mode like this, he would have close to twice the amount of chakra as the fox ever had at his disposal. But he feared that it wouldn't be enough. He still needed more. Steeling himself, he stopped drawing on the natural energy around him for just long enough to swallow the contents of the box he had set in front of him, his heart in his throat as he had to reach over to where the vibrations caused by his chakra had sent it. In a single, jerking motion, he swallowed the entirety of its contents and immediately started drawing slowly on the natural chakra surrounding him. He almost winced at the pain that the pain that the Akimichi's coloured pills caused his system. But he could feel the inhuman boost that the spinach, curry and chilli pills gave him. Each pill multiplied the amount of chakra held within a person's body. The chilli pill alone gave you one hundred times as much chakra. But in taking them all at once… The pills were normally used exclusively by the Akimichi clan, since the pills worked by converting the body's fat cells into chakra, something that the Akimichi's always had a surplus of. But if there were not enough fat reserves, then the pills would break down any and every other energy rich type of cell in the body, which was what caused death in any other person. Cells, which, in Naruto's case, were replicating at an extraordinary rate, thanks to Kyuubi's influence. The rock underneath him was completely ground away and Naruto started forming his own crater thanks to the intensity of his chakra. His chakra coils had long since fractured and split asunder, only the Kyuubi's influence keeping a tenuous grasp on the ocean of power that raged within.

When he felt his chakra reach its peak, Naruto began drawing deeply on any available nature chakra, striving to create a balance with the energy already within him. It was too much for the things that surrounded him. Like a stain spreading out from where Naruto sat, the plants around him began to turn brown and die as the energy he drew from them exceeded their limits. The tree around him lost their leaves, which had turned brown and brittle, before the trunks themselves began to wither. Like a wave, the desolation spread quickly. Seeing the devastation move towards them, the ninja who were within seconds of coming into contact with Naruto turned and fled. A circle of ruin almost five and a half miles in diameter now stood where once had been a heavily forested area; Naruto in the centre of it all. Within that circle, there was utter silence. Not even the sound of insects permeated the area. Naruto opened his eyes, revealing the orange markings that marked him as a Sage, taking in the destruction that surrounded him. Clods of earth were floating around him, buoyed up by the very pressure of the power that he held, a power that could be felt by all the inhabitants of the Elemental Nations. And yet Naruto knew that if he even tried to channel it, he would be obliterated. "I CALL UPON YOU: SHINGAMI!"

There was no dramatic appearance this time, the Shingami just blinked into view, wearing the form of the man that he had left as, that of an ordinary man.

"_Shit __kid! What in the hell did you do! The court of the gods itself was almost pissing itself when it felt what you were releasing! No mortal should have that kind of power, or so they say." _Despite his words, the Shinigami could not help but let the smallest hints ao admiration tinge his voice. This mortal...was intereting

"Is it enough?" Naruto asked his voice strained. Holding this much power was overwhelming him, even with the healing that both the Kyuubi's chakra and Sage Mode provided.

The Shingami snorted.

_"Hell yeah it is. At this point of time, you're holding more power than any other mortal has ever held on this planet. Pity you can't do anything with it for fear of going kablooey. Cutting it kind of close though aren't you? From my count you're going to be gone in oh… thirty-two seconds?"_ he saidd, speaking as if he were holding a casual conversation with a stranger.

Naruto's eyes widened as he fell to the ground and began hacking up blood. "Then do the jutsu already!" Naruto gasped.

The Shingami sighed, before leaning down and extending his hand to Naruto. _"Fine, take my hand and say please._" Naruto looked at him as if he were crazy. _"It's not as if you've got much choice in the matter. Tick-tock, tick-tock."_

Naruto swung his hand round to take a hold of Death himself. "Please." With a surge, he felt all the power that he had held leave him, travelling along his hand and up to the Shingami. Immediately, the world started going hazy. Just before he blacked out, he heard the Shingami's voice one last time.

_"Oh and for future reference, you're really going to want to kill that son of a bitch Yakushi Kabuto, or he'll __really__ start to chafe your ass in the future."_

* * *

It seemed as if Naruto had awoken from a dream, or was it a nightmare? Slowly, he opened his eyes, staring at the familiar ceiling above his head. He was back in his home, back in his own apartment block. With a whoop he kicked off the covers and ran around, or tried to. The only thing he succeeded in doing was planting himself face first into the ground. Frowning, he stood up slowly and tried to take a couple of steps forward, swearing as he tripped up once again. It looked like that technique had messed up with the control he had over his own body. It took hi awhile, but Naruto finally made it into the bathroom. He stopped suddenly, staring at his cracked mirror. Staring at the face of the ten-year old boy looking out at him.

"**HE DID IT, THE LITTLE KIT ACTUALLY DID IT."**

"_Well of course he did. I never had any doubt of it in my mind," _another voice said, answering the fox's disbelieving statement.

* * *

Author's note: Well that's another chapter done and dusted. I've been thinking a lot about where this should be going and I can quite happily say that I've already got the next few chapters planned out, now I just have to write them… Don't worry Naruto is not going to become a Gary-Stu in this story. The methods that he used in order to travel back in time cannot be used in an ordinary battle. It's impossible for anyone to mould that amount of chakra, at least it is in this story. He will not be doing anything with the Akimichi pills again. The only time his healing actually prevents the poisoning from killing him in a few seconds is when the fox has been released, which obviously isn't going to be happening anytime soon. I mean, come on, the kid just went six years back in time. That takes a lot of juice! Anyway, who do you think that voice is in Naruto's head? Read, Enjoy and Review.


	5. A New Comrade

Authors Notes: I didn't expect being able to put up another chapter so soon. In fact, I should have been studying instead… oh well. I needed to get this section out of my head. Plus there's the fact that I'm kind of blown away with the amount of hits and such that I've been getting with what I've done so far. I enjoy writing. I just never thought that other people would enjoy reading what I write. So thank you everyone. Big thanks go to Dragon Man 180, Hektols, Leaf Ranger, Chewie Cookies, Reishin Amara and Patriot-112 for the multiple reviews. Anyway, on with the story, this chapter is a bit shorter than others but it has some major plot events. Next one will probably be longer.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Insert humorous reason as to why here. P.S. I also don't own Star Wars.

* * *

Chapter 5

A New Comrade

Naruto froze at the sound of the voice that spoke within his head. "Who's that?" he asked warily.

"**IT SEEMS, KIT, AS IF WE HAVE PICKED UP A STOWAYAY ON OUR TRIP,"** the Kyuubi answered, a hint of disgust evident in his voice.

"_Hello again Naruto, I hope you don't mind me joining you on this little adventure."_ Naruto stopped, his eyes widening to alarming levels.

"This can't be happening to me," he muttered, trying to keep his sanity. "I'm going to close my eyes and count to ten and when I've finished counting, this will all have been a horrible nightmare. One."

"_Well that's not very nice."_

"Two."

"_Is he always like this?"_

"Three."

"**PRETTY MUCH. THE KID SPENDS MOST OF HIS LIFE IN DENIAL, MOSTLY WHEN HE'S FIGHTING, HE ALWAYS THE FACT THAT IT SHOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR HIM TO WIN AND THEN USUALLY KICKS THE CRAP OUT OF THE GUY, OF COURSE, HE COULDN'T DO IT WITHOUT ME."**

"Four," by now, Naruto's voice had gone a little higher as he started to quiver.

"_I don't know, looking at it from my view, he didn't use your help all that much."_

"Five," Naruto had started to get a little louder. Silence greeted him.

"Six."

"…_He doesn't really think that this is going to work, does he?"_

"SeveneightnineTEN!"

Naruto opened his eyes and looked around. The voices had stopped. With a sigh of relief, he picked himself of the floor and tried to walk towards the kitchen, cursing as he fell over once more.

* * *

Finally reaching the kitchen, he managed to flick the kettle on without incident, before dragging himself over to the pantry and pulled out one of his many packs of instant ramen. However, his muscle control was still shot, so it took a while to clean up all the other bowls of instant ramen that had come crashing down to the ground when Naruto upset their somewhat precarious balance. All in all, he had tried to stack them back in the cupboard six times, before he gave up. Instead, he philosophically took it as a sign that the seven remaining bowls of ramen were 'meant' to be eaten as well.

The kettle had boiled by now, so, using one hand to steady the cup, Naruto added the hot water. Or, tried to.

"AAAARRRGGGHHH!" Naruto screamed, hopping around in pain as he held his scalded hand, bashing into numerous objects, corners and edges before he tripped over his own feet and fell onto the ground.

"Why does this shit keep happening to me!" Naruto wailed.

"_Because sending you back in time resulted in you having the mind of a sixteen year old in the body of a twelve year old boy. To be frank, you're trying to move as if you were still as big as your sixteen year old self, when in fact, you're stuck in your titch of a twelve year old body."_

"I'M NOT A TITCH!"

"_Your twelve years old and under four feet eight. Face it, you're a midget."_

"I'M NOT A… what the hell are you doing hear anyway?" Naruto asked, inwardly cursing Kakashi-sensei, who had told him that the counting to ten always helped with sorting out your problems. Or was it ten thousand? That might explain a couple of things about his punctuality…

A sigh came from within Naruto's mind as the Shingami answered him. _"Hiding."_

"Eh? You're the God of the Dead, who could you be hiding from?" Naruto asked out loud, his face scrunched up in disbelief.

"_Kami."_ Hearing this, Naruto closed his eyes and entered the familiar area of his mindscape.

"What do you mean Kami? Why would you hide from him?" Naruto asked, the curiosity evident in his voice.

"**I MYSELF AM CURIOUS ABOUT THAT, AS FAR AS I KNOW, YOU TWO ARE ALMOST EQUAL IN POWER," **Kyuubi said, trying to poke his muzzle between the bars of the cage.

The Shingami stood in the middle of the sewer, once more in his human form. Sighing, he sat down on the cushy armchair that appeared behind him. Naruto twitched as he did this, finding the thought of the Death God messing around with his head to be slightly invasive.

"_Look, technically you're right, when it comes to raw power, Kami and I are pretty much equal, but his rather unique position puts him firmly above me in the food chain."_

"**BECAUSE HE'S KING OF THE GODS?" **Kyuubi asked. The raspberry in reply showed Shingami's lack of respect for figures of authority. Naruto thought that he just might like the guy.

"_That has got nothing to do with it. Fact of the matter is he happens to be my Father-in-Law."_ Kyuubi blinked.

"I don't get it," Naruto said, who had never really had to experience an overprotective father.

Thinking of Hiashi, both Kyuubi and Shingami spoke as one. _"__**YOU WILL."**_

Naruto just sighed. "While this is all very interesting, it still doesn't explain what you're doing here."

The Shingami put his hand behind his neck and rubbed it in a very Naruto-ish fashion. "_Well, you see, Kami-san was more than a little upset that I used so much godly power to turn back time, something about the technique being 'forbidden' because it 'destabilising the fabric of the multiverse.' Apparently, we were incredibly lucky that the thing worked."_

"Wait," Naruto said. "You said that Kami was upset that you used so much _godly_ power to turn back time, you told me that the technique needed _chakra_ to work."

The Shingami shrugged. _"I lied. Turning back the aeons is a power that should belong to no mortal being. Kyuubi here could do it by himself if he really had to and if he could grab enough power. It just takes a lot more effort for a demon to do the deed than it does for a god."_

"**THEN TELL ME, WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL OF OUR POWER?"**

"_Oh, it's being put to good use…"_ Shingami said, a dreamy look on his face.

* * *

In the Court of the Underworld

"Gami-kun," Arlia crooned. "Where arrrre youuuu. You promised that we would spend the day together!" Arlia burst into her husband's office, where she spied him sitting behind a massive pile of paperwork that extended into the air beyond easy sight and yet somehow remained perfectly balanced. "GAMI-KUN," Arlia shrieked, diving over the desk and tackling her husband to the ground. He immediately exploded in a poof of smoke, leaving his wife to fall unceremoniously to the floor. She lay there, shocked, for a period of five seconds before another shadow clone poofed into existence. Arlia stood up, her eyes narrowing. "There will be a reckoning," she said quietly, dangerously, before kicking the clone between the legs, forcing it to dispel.

* * *

Naruto's Room

Shingami winced, then paled at the memory that came to him. _'Oh, shit.'_

"_Anyway, there's a loophole in the rulebook that means that I am able to match any power you give me with my own to use the technique."_

"So I had enough power to send me back by almost five years?" Naruto asked, the delight evident in his voice.

"_Hell no."_ Shingami looked at Naruto's slightly crestfallen face and smirked. _"You gave me too much power, enough to send you back to a time before you were born."_

Naruto's eyes widened. "Then why did you only send me back five years?"

The Shingami shrugged. _"Although it doesn't seem like it to you, it actually takes quite a while to perform the technique and I was interrupted when I was halfway through. Besides, you only really need to start changing some stuff when you become a genin, although, it might be better if you had a better foundation of techniques to go with…"_

"You know, you still haven't explained why you're hiding in my head."

"_I'm not. I'm hiding in your seal. Since I helped your dad make it, it's one of the few places that I can stay without being detected. Plus, I find myself in the annoying position of being in your debt."_

"What?"

Kyuubi sighed. Sometime his host was a little bit clueless. **"THINK, KIT. YOU GAVE HIM POWER. HE HAD TO PERFORM A TASK USING THE SAME AMOUNT OF POWER. HE DID NOT, SINCE HE WAS INTERRUPTED, PROBABLY BY KAMI…"**

'_Yeah… let's go with that…'_ Shingami thought, thinking back to that rather interesting memory that involved his wife and… shaking his head, he turned back to what Kyuubi was saying.

"**AND SO, HE NEEDS TO REPAY YOU WHAT HE OWES YOU. AFTER ALL, IT WOLDN'T DO TO HAVE A GOD INDEBTED TO A MORTAL."**

"Oh…" a slow grin began spreading across Naruto's face. Shingami sweat-dropped. He didn't like the look of that grin. "So basically, I've got the God of Death as my own personal slave for the foreseeable future?" Naruto asked, the glee evident in his voice. As soon as the words left his mouth, he fell to the ground as the massive Killing Intent hit him… no not Killing Intent, this was something… more. The Shingami just stood there, as the light seemed to flee from all around him, leaving him a pitch-black area and yet, he was not hidden by the darkness. Darkness itself seemed to be hidden by him. The light that always seemed to illuminate Naruto's mindscape _shifted _the man's eyes changed, becoming a complete, milky white with pinpricks of a scarlet red in the centre. Then the cold came… Not an ice cold, but the cold of a graveyard mist. The cold could be seen, shimmering lightly in the air, as it moved toward Naruto, whose muscles all seemed to have frozen, all save his heart, which was pounding rapidly. The cold settled over Naruto and he began feeling it sink into his skin. A tingling non-feeling glittered over his fingers and scalp, before the cold began sinking deeper. The warm blood in his veins tried to push that cold away, but there was pain where that cold energy met the blood pulsing beneath his skin. The warmth failed him and Naruto fell to the floor, gasping for breath. The numbness spread throughout Naruto's body as the cold started running through his veins, heading for his heart. But it was not just cold. This cold had was empty, as empty as the night sky devoid of stars, heartless and above all, _hungry._ This hunger clawed at him, not just his body, but _him_. Naruto could almost fell his mind, his ambitions, his very dreams being slowly smothered by that frozen, mindless hunger as the cold started to slow his heart, making breathing impossible. And then it left him.

* * *

Naruto lay on the ground, curled into the fetal position as he gasped frantically for breath, trying to ignore the lingering void like presence that the cold had left within him. His heart beat had sped up again, to almost deadly levels. All of sudden, a fiery warmth came to him running throughout his veins, cleansing the last of the taint that had been left within him and slowing his heart, stopping from bursting. Never had Naruto been gladder to feel the familiar liquid fire of demon chakra running through him. Silently, he thanked Kyuubi as he slowly sat up and opened his eyes, only to push himself backwards when faced with the visage of the Shingami only a few inches away from him. There was no trace of joviality in his tone anymore as he spoke. _"Remember your place, mortal. I have taken an interest in you and am as your demon-friend said, in your debt. But if you ever treat me with such disrespect as to make me out to be your slave again then I will erase your very existence. It will be as if you were never born, no one will now you. No one will remember you and you will be cursed to wonder through the lives of your friends, seeing them, seeing all the pain and suffering that they go through when you could have been there to help them. You will watch them die time and time again and you will never meet them, for they will never even acknowledge your existence. Your loneliness shall utterly consume you and it shall last for a thousand years."_

Silence reigned after the Shingami had finished his speech. A minute passed. Then two. Then three. Finally, Naruto swallowed and bowed towards the Shingami, touching his face to the ground. "I apologise, Shingami-sama. I have a habit of acting before I think. It won't happen again. I promise." Shingami just stared at him for a bit longer, before finally bowing his head, accepting the apology.

"_As long as it doesn't happen again, we'll get along just fine."_

"**HOW WAS IT THAT YOU INTENDED TO PAY BACK YOUR DEBT?" **Kyuubi asked. **"IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THERE IS MUCH YET TO BE PAID."**

"_First of all, I don't owe __**you **__anything, so don't try and infer that I do. Secondly, I thought that I'd stay here and give the boy a bit of a hand in his training and… mental development."_

"OY!"

"_Besides that, I also happen to have some knowledge about what will be happening in his world at the time after the time when he was originally sent back that could prove to be invaluable to him in the long run. That and a couple of other tricks mean that I should be able to pay back any debt that I owe."_

"**THAT STILL LEAVES YOU IN HIS DEBT."**

"_Oh?"_

Kyuubi smirked at the Shingami. As an immortal, he and the Death God did not often see eye to eye and had met each other many times over the eons. It generally led to them trying to one up one another, which provided a sort of entertainment that neither of them were often able to enjoy. **"YOU'RE HIDING FROM KAMI IN THE KID'S SEAL. YOU NEVER ASKED FOR PERMISSION AND ARE ALSO EFFECTIVELY INVADING HIS MIND, SOMETHING THAT GOES AGAINST MORE LAWS THAN I CARE TO COUNT."**

"_Damn. You're right…" _the Shingami cursed slightly, thinking that the fox had got one over him. Then, he smiled. Two could at that game.

"_Naruto, I have a proposition for you."_

"Okay…" Naruto was still feeling a little bit wary of the Death God, after all, he had just been reminded, rather rudely, that he was, in fact, dealing with the _Death God_ as in the guy who was Lord of the Dead and could introduce him to the rest of his subjects within a heartbeat.

"_I need a place to hide, err, stay and although this seal will do nicely, it just doesn't quite meet up to my usual standards. So, with your permission, I'd like to improve it."_

"What do you mean?"

"_Well, the changes to the seal would give me a bit more room to move around in, but it would also have a couple of side effects."_

"Such as?"

"_First of all, when the seal was first created, your dad and I were a little pressed for time, so I'll be making a couple of adjustments that we had originally intended to make."_

"Huh?"

Shingami sighed. _"Think about it: thanks to their demons, most of the jinchuriki get some fairly decent abilities. Gaara got control over sand, the Nibi's jinchuriki got control over fire, the Sanbi got illusionary mist, the Yonbi got Lava, the Gobi got Steam... need I go on? The point of the matter is, we weren't able to give you a secondary ability."_

"Not true! What about my healing factor?" Naruto asked, slightly annoyed at the fact that the Shingami was insulting his dad's sealing work.

The Shingami just snorted. _"Please, that thing? You don't know much about your clan, so I'll forgive you. Fact of the matter is that the entire Uzumaki clan has a rather impressive healing factor, your bloodline limit. It's the reason why the Uzumaki are so long-lived. One of the more impressive examples of this bloodline would have to be Mito Uzumaki, the first jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. She lived since before the founding of Konoha well into the third Hokage's reign, and that's with Kyuubi over there burning up her life expectancy with his demon chakra. Then there's your own mother, Kushina Uzumaki. She survived the __**extraction**__ of Kyuubi, after she had just given birth and a rough birth at that. How? Because of the resilience and healing of the Uzumaki's. You've got it as well, otherwise, how did you think you recovered from all those scratches and such that Kiba gave you when Orochimaru had sealed Kyuubi with the five-pronged-seal, hmmm? Now, I can't give you any secondary abilities at this late stage. I'd have to remake the entire seal to do so. But I can increase that healing factor of yours and maybe give you a couple of other… tweaks."_

"Tweaks?" Naruto said, feeling slightly suspicious. Shingami nodded.

"_Yes, tweaks, but it will take me a while to do everything. To do it all at once would overload your system, causing you to explode, sending blood and guts everywhere and putting a terrible stain in the carpet. There is a small possibility that this will happen anyway. Oh well, let's get started," _the Shingami finished brightly.

"**I FORBID IT!" ** Kyuubi roared, knowing that whatever Shingami did now would not be good for him.

"Wha-," Naruto fell to the ground, unconscious.

"_Oh yes, the Force is strong with this one."_

"**EH?"**

"_You wouldn't get it. Different dimension."  
_

* * *

The Shingami had not been working for long before he started muttering to himself, the mutterings grew louder and louder before finally, he turned to Kyuubi. "_WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO!" _he roared. The Kyuubi quailed for a moment, then stood tall once more.

"**I TRIED TO GET OUT. I TRIED TO GAIN MY FREEDOM."**

"_You nearly got the both of you killed, dumbass!"_ He looked guiltily at the unconscious form of the boy. _"Mind you, it does explain a couple of things."_

"**LIKE WHAT?"**

"_Your actions in trying to free yourself from the seal put a shit-load of cracks through the filter of the seal. Your own raw demon-chakra has been leaking into the poor boys body at an almost constant, dangerous rate. And where is most of the chakra centred, hmm? That's right, the brain! No wonder the poor punk often acts so idiotic. The mental growth to his brain has been stunted and his libido is way out of whack. No wonder he never noticed that girl in the first place. You've also stunted his growth! No wonder he used to be such a short-ass! The only thing that I'm surprised about is that he didn't actually die from all of this."_

"**SO WHAT DO YOU PLAN ON DOING?"**

"_I'm going to fix the seal. He'll be a bit smarter and will be able to grow a bit more, not to mention that he'll actually start noticing girls instead of just searching for the attention that they give him, I don't really need to do anything to improve his healing factor. It works like a muscle, the more work you do with it, the stronger it gets. And it's been fighting against your chakra for most of his life. But I did promise to improve it, so it's going to be in everyone's faces. Heck, the kid might even be able to regenerate limbs if they get removed. But having a look at it now, there may be one thing that I can do to improve his natural abilities."_

It took a surprisingly short amount of time for Shingami to finish making the improvements to Naruto's seal, as soon as he was done, there was an instant change to the mindscape – or, at least half of the mindscape. The half beyond Kyuubi's cage had become what looked like a large rec room, complete with a T.V., game system, pool table and a luxurious bed in the corner. There was also what looked like the floor of a massive dojo in the middle of the room. No longer did it look like the inside of a sewer. Kyuubi's side… stayed the same. _"Alright, time for the boy to wake up."_

* * *

Naruto's Room

Slowly, Naruto sat back up from where he had collapsed onto the floor, his body covered in a cold sweat. "Urrrgh. My head, what did you to me?"

"_A great favour. But it wasn't enough. I should have made sure that the fox wasn't able to damage your seal. So will you accept my offer of help?"_

Naruto blinked. He still wasn't completely sure about having another voice in his head. But at the same time he didn't want to piss this guy off. "I'd be honoured, but don't you have a job to do?"

Shingami snorted. _"Kid, remember when I told you that I've been taking on heroes and the like for thousands of years? You're the most interesting one that I've yet to come across and lately I've been bored as hell. Besides, I've been working since pretty much the dawn of creation. Trust me kid. I'm due some long service leave."_

* * *

o.o.o

Authors Notes: Right, how many of you thought that the Shingami would be the one to join Naruto? To tell you the truth, I was originally going to go with Minato, but I really enjoyed writing about the Shingami which kind of made me change my mind plus, the possibilities… (drool). So, what do you think his new abilities will be? Sorry for all those loyal Naruhina fans but I couldn't get him to meet up with Hinata again so soon. Maybe next chapter. If I get enough reviews. Anyway, hope you enjoyed.

Oh, one more thing. Obviously, Shingami is going to be a bit of a major character, so I kind of need a better name for him. Gami-kun might work, but the only other thing I've got is Bob... so any ideas? A poll will be made of the suggestions.


	6. Small Changes

Authors Note: I'M BACK! So sorry that it took me so long to update. Mid term exams, followed by a stupid sup. Oh well, thanks to all those who reviewed, can't tell you how much I appreciated it. Now, on with the story.

* * *

Chapter 6

Small Changes

The blonde knucklehead was cursing fluently with a great amount of feeling as he walked down the streets of Konoha towards the academy. Well, if you could call it walking. His steps seemed to somehow be a little bit… off. Instead of his usual, hyperactive and slightly cocky stride, he was stumbling and weaving like Tsunade going back home on one of the rare occasions when Shizune called in sick. Now, you might expect Shizune to never have a sick day, what with her mentor being the greatest healer within all of the Elemental Lands, but Tsunade had her reasons for making sure that her apprentice got her bed-rest. Reasons that Naruto understood perfectly. It was quite simple really. With Shizune out of the way there was no one, or at least, no one who dared, to place more paperwork on the Hokage's desk. Their was no one to make her go through all those boring reports, and, most importantly, there was no one to steal her hidden stashes of sake, or prevent her from going out at the end of the day for a 'small' drink. Which meant that a sick day for Shizune meant a day off for Tsunade. Hence her less than completely stable state on her return home in the evening.

But this was not the reason as to why Naruto was so upset. Or at least, it was not the whole reason. The real reason for his less than cheerful disposition was simply because he stank. That wasn't usually a problem for him, after all, running around 24/7 in a thick orange jumpsuit in the middle of the Land of Fire meant that he would often get a little bit whiffy, but this was so much more than he usually had to deal with. Landing headfirst in a dumpster could often have such an effect. Naruto had just never thought that he would have to find out this little fact first hand. Grimacing slightly, Naruto increased the amount of chakra he was sending to his nose to block out the smell as he thought back to what had caused this dilemma.

He had been in a bit of a rush to get to the academy. He just couldn't wait to see everyone especially Sasuke and Hinata. It hadn't taken him very long… at all, to realize that Orochimaru had never come into contact with Sasuke yet and that if he played his cards right, he would make sure that he wouldn't lose his brother to that snake again. And that really was a promise of a lifetime. He was also desperate to see Hinata living and breathing again. Plus, well class had already started a couple of minutes ago. Never-mind! He'd just go out through the window and do some roof hopping! That'd save time!

_Flashback_

"AAAAAGGGGHHHH!"

* * *

Naruto winced. It hadn't saved time. After a small conversation with Shinigami, he found out the reason for his lack of body control. It turns out that instead of just merging his ten-year-old mind with the rest of his memories, he had sent over his entire sixteen-year-old mind to the past. Apparently, having a much larger sixteen-year-old's mind in the body of a ten-year-old shrimp, his words, not Naruto's, played havoc with a person's muscle control. Of course, if he had actually bothered to listen to what Shinigami had said to him, then he would never have been in this position in the first place. But since when had Naruto ever learnt something after just being told about it? He learnt by doing stuff with his body. Falling from several stories high into a dumpster qualifies. After this, Naruto conveniently forgot just how powerful the being inside of him really was for the express purpose of being able to swear off at the old dude. Not that he really minded, since he was to busy laughing at Naruto trying to dig himself out of the dumpster. The impact had left a fairly large crater. Buut, there were some future benefits of his situation. Turns out that if the Shinigami hadn't done things this way, then Naruto would have been unable to use the Kage Bunshin training technique. Apparently, if his ten year old's mind had to go through the trauma of so many hours worth of memories and experiences all being dumped on it at once, Naruto's brain would do the same thing as Ino's when she was forced to keep her mouth shut about some particularly juicy piece of gossip: explode.

All of this lead him to this moment in time, walking, well, lurching, down the familiar road, wearing one of his old orange outfits. He had four different sets of them, unlike some of those rumors that went around Konoha; he did have _some_ semblance of personal hygiene. Admittedly, a rather small one. It was a good thing that he had so many sets as, well, this one would probably have to go, since it was covered in all manner of refuse. Sniffing with his dulled nose, Naruto tried to identify at least some of the smells that clung to him: old milk, fungus laden bread, six different kinds of rotting fruit, with bits of old noodles, rice, beef and pork, although strangely enough, no chicken. But that wasn't the worst of it. The worst was… "Sniff, sniff," Naruto blanched.

"_Yep, diaper gravy," _Shinigami said, a slight giggle in his voice.

Naruto swore.

"Kami, what did I do to deserve this?"

"**REWROTE THE FABRIC OF TIME ITSELF?"**

"Shut up, baka Fox! I wasn't asking you!"

As he spoke, Naruto walked past the Inuzuka compound. All of a sudden, a series of panicked howls and yelps rent the air as the sensitive noses of the Inuzuka hounds, and indeed those of the Inuzukas themselves, were assaulted by potent smell of the stench that hung around Naruto like a malevolent miasma.

"Oh COME ON!" Naruto shouted out loud, the annoyance in his voice evident. "It's not that bad!" Catching a sight of the dogs through a hole in the fence, Naruto sweat dropped. The dogs were by now, trying to bury their faces in the dirt. Evidently, they thought that yes, it really was that bad.

As Naruto walked down the path, he reflected that this wasn't really all that bad. One good thing going for him was that the people around him weren't giving him those customary hate filled glances. If they had, then they would have been spending too long in his presence. The crowd parted before him, leaving an open path down the road. Naruto smirked. One day they would do that once more, but this time, out of respect for their leader.

Eventually, Naruto came to a very familiar arched bridge. A short wave of nostalgia came over him at the sight of it. This particular bridge was the place where he and his team used to meet for missions. Well, after he, Sasuke and Sakura waited a couple of hours for Kakashi. Or, where they would wait? Naruto shook his head. Time travel was confusing. Deciding to leave that subject alone for the moment, Naruto stopped a while. Walking over to the railing, he placed his hands on it and stared out at the plants and flowers that surrounded him. Leaves and flower petals from a nearby Sakura tree blew past him, accenting the beauty of the surrounding scene, before falling to kiss the surface of the water beneath him, where the gentle current slowly carried them away. The sight before him was so beautiful, so serene, that it began to have a relaxing effect on Naruto. All the stress, all the tension that had been with him ever since he first learnt of Jiraiya's untimely demise slowly started to drain out of him. Smiling slightly, Naruto took a deep breath to take in the air and smell of this place, which was the sight of so many memories, absentmindedly halting the flow of chakra to his nose as he did so.

* * *

There were not many who were watching Naruto at this point of time, however, those that were simply could not understand the demon brat. He had just been standing there, hands placed on the railing of the bridge, looking out over the river with a smile on his face. This smile was different to the one that he usually wore. It was small, slight and yet, it lit up his face in a way that hardly anyone ever saw. When he smiled this smile, his sapphire eyes seemed to come alive, twinkling like the jewels they so closely resembled and yet alight with a joy and mischievousness that made them seem to be somehow… more. Many almost didn't recognize him, even despite the fact that he was the only one in Konoha to wear a jump suit that particularly unique color. And all because of a different smile. Hinata had a name for this expression. She called it his true smile, a smile that was made with not just his mouth, but also with his eyes, those eyes that usually held such pain. Still smiling, Naruto had suddenly taken a deep breath through his nose.

Everything changed. The smile left him. A look of horror took a firm hold on his features, as the color of his complexion became a match to Gama-chan's. Then, with all the eagerness of a lemming, Naruto hurled himself over the railing and into the water below, creating a loud splash from his less than graceful entry. One of the nearby civilians brightened considerably. Obviously, the demon felt guilty for its past actions, or, more likely, felt that life was no longer worth living in hi s current, pathetic form. Grinning stupidly, he went off to spread the good news, the more than slight weave in his stride indicating that he and Tsunade had something in common. Either that or there was another time-traveler in Konoha.

* * *

Naruto sat at the bottom of the river, scrubbing furiously at his nose; his newly sensitive nose. Shinigami had said that he would increase his senses and the Death god had kept his word. Naruto's sense of smell had been greatly increased. It still wasn't on par with an Inuzuka's, since Shinigami had made sure to make any of the changes gradual, but it had still been increased by a large factor. Before now, he had been channeling chakra to his eyes, ears and nose in order to compensate for his newly developed sensitivity. But by accidentally releasing that chakra, he placed his virtually virgin nose under the torture of his own stench. This situation was comparable to a man who has been blindfolded for a number of years suddenly having his blindfold ripped off, only to be confronted by a flash bomb, a flash bomb that wouldn't end. And so, Naruto had done the only thing that he could think of. Which brought him back to the present time, sitting at the bottom of the river. It made sense when you think about it. You can't smell under water.

"_Well you really messed that now didn't you? You haven't even had my improvements for two hours and already you're making a fool of yourself."_

'I think I'm gonna be sick.'

"_You do realize of course that you've probably done some damage to yourself after that little stunt?"_

"What do you mean?"

Shinigami sighed. _"To put it in terms that your simple mind can understand, you've gone and overloaded your nose. Thanks to your healing factor, you'll be able to use it to its full potential in a couple of days. Mind you, that's not really a bad thing, out of all your senses; the change in your sense of smell will take the greatest amount of getting used to. Ah well, this may be for the best, I suppose. Now back to the surface with you."_

"No."

"_No?"_

"It might be waiting for me," Naruto explained.

"**YOU DO REALISE THAT YOU CAN'T BREATH DOWN HERE?"**

"Can't breath up there either," Naruto grumbled, allowing himself to float back up to the flight. He broke the surface of the water with the tips of his hair first and then allowed his eyes to rise above the water, keeping his nose submerged.

"**GET ON WITH IT."**

* * *

Being sure to virtually stuff his nose with chakra, just in case, Naruto let the rest of his head rise above the water and tried to lever himself up by channeling chakra to his hands and pushing up. Key word, tried. His hand went straight through the water, acting as if there were no chakra there at all. Frowning, Naruto tried again. And again. And again.

"_Hey dumbass, it aint gonna work. You've only got the chakra control of your eleven-year-old self remember. Actually, its even worse than it used to be."_

"Why me?"

"**WHY NOT?"  
**

"Shut up! So, is worse chakra control something else that I didn't read in the fine print in the legal document of the consequences of time travel?"

Complete silence greeted Naruto at these words. It lasted long enough for Naruto to reach the river's bank. It was beginning to make him a bit fidgety. "What?" he asked abruptly.

"**KIT… THAT SOUNDED ALMOST INTELLIGENT."**

"…Screw you."

"_Anyway… No, the low chakra control is not an effect of time travel, but rather an effect of me tweaking your seal. Used to be that raw yokai chakra was leaking into your system. That did hell for your control, but you usually had a rather large amount of chakra used to power your healing factor to combat the damage done to your system by it. This is one of the things that ended up making your chakra coils so kami-forsaken huge. It's also what made you such a short-ass. Only reason that you ended up getting a growing spurt is that you ended up developing a strong resistance to the demon chakra. Plus your Ero-sennin actually got you on a decent diet. Seriously, what do you see in eating all that ramen? That much o the stuff just can't be healthy." _Shinigami stopped as a feral growl rent the air and Naruto appeared in his mindscape. Pointing an accusing finger at the Death God, he growled "Don't mess with the Ramem dude. That sacred territory you're walking. Either you respect the Ramen, or Shinigami or not, I swear by the Log that I will kick your ass!" Shinigami sweat-dropped.

"_Anyway… Thing is, that the demon chakra didn't leak at a constant rate. The seal acted as a self-repairing dam, I guess you could say. The demon chakra would build up until it 'overflowed,' sending a large amount of Kyuubi's essence into your system, although not nearly as much as when you consciously draw upon his chakra yourself. This in turn meant that a large amount of your chakra was used to combat it. All this was highly inefficient, and the fluctuations in your chakra caused your control to go to hell. I just changed the seal so that it would allow the chakra to constantly leak into your system."_

"WHAT! ARE YOU CRAZY! THE LAST THING I NEED IS HAVING DEMON CHAKRA IN ME ALL THE TIME! WHY COULDN'T YOU- ow." Naruto suddenly sat on the ground rubbing the large bump on his head. The Shinigami rubbed his fist with an expression of slightly sadistic smile pleasure on his face. _"Wasn't sure if I'd actually be able to touch you in here. This'll make things so much more interesting." _Naruto paled as the smile on the Death God's face began to widen into a shit-eating grin.

"_Alright, now if you will allow me to continue, let me explain why I did it this way. Think of it like this: what's easier to move, a two ton boulder, or two tons worth of ten kilogram rocks?"_

"The two ton boulder."

Shinigami face vaulted. _"Right… Let me rephrase that. Which would be easier for a civilian to accomplish?"_

"The rocks."

"_Right. So, what's is simple. As each 'drop' of demon chakra enters your system, it is quickly converted and assimilated within your own chakra coils. This frees up a lot of the chakra that used to go to heal the damage done. My way of doing things means that you're going to get more demon chakra into your system every day with almost no damage done and with more yokai chakra in your system your resistance is going to increase as well. It eliminates the fluctuations in your chakra, which means it's possible to get some fairly decent control. Basically, you're going to get a larger chakra capacity, higher control, a better resistance to demon chakra and all with a crap-load less damage to you than it used to be. And all with just one change to the seal."_

Naruto stared at the Shinigami with something approaching awe on his face. "You're a genius."

"_Why yes, yes I am. Feel free to bask in my glow."_

* * *

It wasn't much longer after that that Naruto entered a shop, with a henge of himself looking like he did when he was before the time jump, except with black hair, no whiskers and green eyes. He still stank.

_Flashback_

Naruto looked down and caught sight of his reflection in the water. He looked a real mess.

"Damn. I can't go to the academy like this."

"_Why not?"_

"I look like a mess!"

"_So?"_

"**HE DOESN'T WANT THE BLUE HAIRED, PALE EYED GIRL TO SEE HIM LIKE THIS."**

"N-No that's not it."

"**KIT, HOW LONG HAVE I KNOWN YOU?"**

"Is that a trick question?"

"**GIVE ME SOME CREDIT. I KNOW YOU WELL ENOUGH TO KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING ALMOST BEFORE YOU DO… UNLESS YOU'RE ABOUT TO DO SOMETHING THAT COMPLETELY DEFIES ALL LOGICAL REASONING."**

"_So you can effectively read his mind about half the time?"_

"**A LITTLE LESS THAN HALF THE TIME ACTUALLY."**

"I gotta go home and change."

"_Do that and you might as well not go to the academy at all today. Get to the nearest and get some new clothes. Then burn these ones."_

"You're not going to tell me that you have something against orange as well are you?" Naruto asked suspiciously.

Shinigami sighed, somehow knowing that it wouldn't be the last time. _"No, nothing against orange. Just thought that you'd like to get rid of that smell."_

"Oh, alright then. Now, let's go shopping!" Naruto, about to bolt in the direction of the closest store, stopped and shuddered. "Shinigami-sama?"

"_Yes?"_

"Next time I say something that sounds so much like Ino, kick me. Please?"

"_I was already planning on it."_

"Thank you." Problem sorted, Naruto charged off, only to trip and to slide about four meters across the gravel on his face. Wincing, he sat up, _feeling _the cuts on his face close up, healing at a remarkable rate. But he also became aware of something. Even he did heal faster than he used to, that didn't mean that it didn't hurt. "All right, enough is enough. Henge!" Transforming into his sixteen-year-old self, Naruto ran to the store with all the grace of a ninja.

* * *

He had changed his appearance after Shinigami had pointed out that he was the only one to have those rather distinctive whisker marks and people would begin to wonder why he was walking around in a henge, not to mention the questions he would be asked if people found out that he knew exactly how he would look when older. Apparently, that sort of thing makes one suspicious. Unfortunately, they didn't have any orange jumpsuits, so Naruto had to go with something different. _"Tell you what kid, you're going to need some clothes that don't stand out so much, so why don't you let me choose them for you? If you do, I may even tell you about the secondary ability you've got."_

In the end, Gama-chan was completely empty. Naruto now wore a pair of form fitting, yet not tight, black pair of cotton pants. His grey shirt was long sleeved and fairly tight, over which he wore a black hoodie. Leather boots adorned his feet. The black clothes were all faded in color, not a pitch black; rather, they were a color that Shinigami said would allow him to blend in with the shadows of the night. The God of Death seemed to have a thing for black, who knew? Despite all this though, the Shinigami wouldn't tell him what his ability was until he had completed the outfit. He needed more cash to get the matching matte black chainmail shirt, vambraces and greaves before he could get his second resident to spill the beans. His last purchase was a bottle of deodorant. He was a little disappointed with the smell though. However, both the Shinigami and Kyuubi had forbid him from buying that one.

_Flashback_

"Hey! This one smells like ramen!"

"_**NO!"**_shocked at both the tone of voice and the fact that the two immortals had actually agreed on something, Naruto put the bottle down and picked a new one at random.

* * *

Besides covering up the remainder of the smell, Naruto found out that the deodorant highly effective in getting rid of the source of the unholy odor. Kyuubi directed him to hold a lit match or a lighter in front of the can and then spray. Naruto was a little shocked at first at the spurt of flame that came out and was careful to make sure that he kept control over it. But his now dry jumpsuit was soon crackling away merely in a small metal rubbish bin. How Kyuubi knew of this trick was a mystery he wasn't telling, although Naruto did hear him mutter something under his breath about a 'troublesome' woman…

Naruto stood outside the door to his class, just staring at the doorknob. He had been standing there for the last two minutes. Why? He was scared. Five years he had gone back in time. And it was only now starting to come to him what that could actually mean. He knew what was going to happen. He could _change_ what would happen. But with every change he made, the future that he knew of would also change. As of now, he had only three main goals. Prevent Jiraiya's death. Stop Sasuke from abandoning the Konoha. Save Hinata-chan's life. That was not necessarily the order of their importance. Taking a deep breath, Naruto entered the room.

Iruka halted the lecture as a short figure dressed in black walked into the room. If you could call it walking as the figure stumbled all over the place. "Can I help you?" Stopping, the boy looked at him in confusion from beneath the shadows of his hood, but seeing his face, Iruka recognized the whisker marks on his cheeks. The shock of blond hair when he pulled the hood down confirmed his suspicion. "Hey Iruka-sensei!"

"Naruto… DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT TIME IT IS!" Iruka yelled, using the bigheaded jutsu on him. Naruto clapped his hands over his ears. He still wasn't used to how much louder even the smallest of things sounded to him. At Shinigami's urging, he had decreased the amount of chakra that blocked each of his senses in an attempt to get used to them but he could do without all the shouting.

"Please. Not so loud," he muttered. Iruka glared at his student. He didn't like telling Naruto off, but still…

"Well Naruto. Would you like to tell the class why you are a total of five hours late today?"

"Sorry about that Iruka-sensei. As to why I'm late… you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Naruto!"

Fumbling for an excuse, Naruto went with an old standby. "I ran into this poor old lady carrying some groceries and had to help her get them home, after which I got lost on the road of life?"

"LIAR." Naruto sweat-dropped. Did that excuse have a universal reaction? At least the distraction had given hime the chance to come up with something that sounded plausible.

"Fine. I spent too much money on the sulfur and not enough on the fuse. Happy?

"WHAT!"

Naruto winced once more. "I also think I may have blown an eardrum."

Iruka just sighed. "Get to a seat Naruto."

Swallowing, Naruto turned to face the rest of the class. His gaze immediately went to the girl in the back row. It was all that Naruto could do to prevent the tears coming to his eyes as he stared straight at those lavender pools and stared walking towards the back of the class, uncaring of the tables he bumped into along the way.

Hinata hadn't been having a good day. Her father had been his usual cheerful self at the breakfast table, praising Hanabi for all of her accomplishments while at the same time degrading Hinata with every word. Then Neji had been waiting outside for her and went on another fate trip, stating how she was fated to be a failure for the entirety of her life, how it would have been better if she had never been born and that she should leave. That she was unloved and would always remain unloved, for no one would accept someone as pathetic as her. She had run from the Hyuuga manor in tears. And when she finally got to the academy, he wasn't there to cheer her up. Naruto could always do that. No matter what had happened to her, somehow just being in the same room as her crush took the away the heaviness that too often burdened her heart. But he hadn't been there. She had sat, alone, during recess, watching all the other kids play together, the ones who had friends. No one had tried to include her and during the few times that she had been able to pluck up the courage to try and join a group, there would always be someone who would say something that would kill the meager confidence she had. She had spent most of lunch hiding in a corner, crying. No friends, her mother dead, her once kind uncle dead because of her, an unloving father, a disdainful sister and a hating cousin. Alone and unloved, was that her fate? No. She would not let her cousin get to her. Her family may not love her, but Kurenai-san loved her. She would not give up on herself. Naruto-kun never gave up, no matter how many times he fell. And so, when the bell went, she washed her face, dried her eyes and gone back to the classroom, with nobody the wiser. And then he had walked into the classroom. Hinata took a deep breath and released it, feeling much of the tension that she had been holding on to flow out from her body, smiling a little as she heard the conversation between Naruto and Iruka-sensei. When she opened her eyes, she was greeted by a shock. Naruto was looking at her. _At her!_ Hinata watched wide-eyed as he came towards her, his bright blue eyes never leaving her face.

Naruto smiled at Hinata as he stood beside the free seat next to her. "Hey Hinata," he said, quietly. "Do you mind if I sit here?" Blushing a bright red, Hinata shook her head. "Th-th-that's f-fine Naruto-kun. I'd be ha-ha-ha-happy for y-you to s-s-sit next to m-m-m-m-me. He smiled a true smile at her, causing her to go a shade of red that Naruto had only ever seen on her face before and took his seat.

'_Don't faint, don't faint, don't faint, don't faint, don't faint,' _Hinata chanted silently chanted. Slowly, her face returned to a mere pink in color. Hinata took several deep breaths to center herself, before inadvertently taking notice of Naruto's scent. _'Ramen, sandalwood, slightly smoky with a hint of cinnamon… mmmmm!'_ Catching her thoughts, Hinata went straight back to a red color. _'Don't faint, don't faint, don't faint, don't faint, don't fain.'_ She had yet to get herself under control when the object of her affection leaned closed to her and held her hand. "I'm really happy to see you today Hinata-chan," he said. Hinata stared at Naruto. _'He called me chan! He's holding my hand!' _Hinata fainted.

Naruto chuckled. He was so glad that his friend was still alive. Smiling happily, he looked around at his surrounding classmates, ignoring the cannon fodder. Sasuke had made the mistake of sitting in the middle of a desk, so Sakura and Ino were sitting on either side of him, fighting for him over his head. Choji was munching on a pack of chips, as usual, while Shikamaru was asleep on his desk, also as usual. Kiba was looking bored while talking to Akamaru and Shino was, well Shino. He turned back to look at Iruka sensei with a smile still on his face.

"Naruto! What happened to Hinata?"

Naruto put a worried look on his face. "I don't know Iruka-sensei. I just talked to her and she went all red then keeled over. Do you think she may be sick?"

Iruka sighed and went back to the lesson. "Never mind. Today, we are going to start the Henge." Naruto paled as he realized the one thing that he and never thought to take into account in going back in time. He would have to go through at another two years of academy schoolwork… shit. He turned back to Iruka. "The Henge is a rather weak transformation genjutsu that acts to change ones appearance. It has no physical effect on the body whatsoever? Any questions?" Iruka was slightly shocked as Naruto's hand shot into the air. "Yes, Naruto?"

"Iruka sensei, does that mean that if you use the henge to make yourself taller or bigger, then you'd actually still be the same size?"

"That's what I just said Naruto. The henge is an E ranked genjutsu. What you're talking about is what is known as a true transformation. It would involve redistributing and actually increasing your body mass with chakra alone. The only ones capable of doing anything like that are the Akimichi's. But even they can't change their appearance at the same time. A technique like that would be at the very least an A ranked ninjutsu."

Naruto's mind blanked out as he remembered transforming into his sixteen year old self and running with perfect control, the fight with pain as he transformed his clones into rubble that hit the ground from a high height and didn't disperse and finally, when he had Sasuke throw him as a transformed windmill shuriken. He did thing he could. He threw back his head and laughed.

* * *

Authors Note: Right, new chapter now completed. Now, just answering a couple of questions. First of all, Shinigami cannot do any fighting whatsoever. To do so would mean that Kami would find him. He can however, give Naruto some advice and talk to him in his mindscape. Yes, I am using the True Transformation. There's just so much untapped potential in that technique. Started with the Naruhina. No, at this stage, Naruto does not love Hinata. She's just one of his precious people. I won't be changing the teams, as a change that big would screw with all the knowledge that Naruto has about the future. Next chapter should be along soon. In the meantime, check out the poll on my profile, I need a nickname for Shinigami. Till next time. Oh, one more thing. If anyone wants to write an Omake about Kyuubi's experiences with a deoderant can, feel free. I'll include the best one in my next chapter.

P.S. More reviews = quicker update!


	7. Henge and a Small Misunderstanding

Author's Note

I can not believe the response that I got after just a couple of days after posting the last chapter. Another 29 reviews after just that chapter. I really can't express what that means to me, as most of my family and friends aren't really all that supportive of my writing habits. They sort of believe it to be a waste of time. So to see people read and enjoy what I write really means a lot to me. Kudos go to Deathmvp for the idea of the confrontation between Naruto and Hinata, it was fun to write. Anyway, this chapter has my first fight scene in it. It's only a small one, but it is meant to show at least some of the potential of the Henge, which I hope it did. Enjoy, it's my biggest chapter yet.

* * *

Disclaimer. I am so not going to be doing this in every chapter. The fact that I don't own Naruto and never will is slightly depressing.

* * *

Chapter 7

Henge and a Small Misunderstanding

Naruto just couldn't stop laughing. The situation itself was entirely hilarious. He had, as an academy student of eleven years old, developed a supposedly impossible A Rank technique. He had then proceeded to use that technique for five years while being completely unaware of what he was actually doing. But what made it really funny were the reasons as to why he had actually messed around with the henge in the first place. The orioke no jutsu (AN: I'm not going to translate that. You should know it.), he had just been looking for a way to make it more realistic, 'sigh, it really is the ultimate technique.' Plus, when he had first tried to do the genjutsu, he could never get it right. Iruka had kept on saying that he was using too much chakra. But his henge had always used a fair amount of chakra. Oh, there was so much that he could do with this. Just imagine the pranks he could get away. As this thought crossed his mind, his laughter began to change in tone.

"Naruto… Naruto," Iruka tried to halt Naruto's laughter. It wasn't working and the blonde had now started to cackle evilly.

"NARUTO!" Iruka nodded, satisfied. The demon-head jutsu was his contribution to teaching and was highly effective at shutting up even the rowdiest class. The Hokage himself had asked if he would consider teaching it to the rest of the chuunin teachers. Iruka had refused, stating that someone may end up abusing the jutsu. Sarutobi had then asked, well, begged, Iruka to teach the jutsu to him, stating that it seemed to be a foolproof way of getting Naruto to behave. Iruka had agreed, on one condition. That was around about the time that Iruka first started to take Naruto to Ichiraku's. In an unrelated note, that was also the time when the Third Hokage had started doing extra missions on the side, mostly D ranked, as he needed to stay in the village. When asked the reasons why by his former teammates after coming in from catching Tora, whom he had developed an intense dislike for, he muttered something along the lines of "need more money to throw into a bottomless pit." A month later, Iruka had put a limit on Naruto at three, sometimes four, bowls of ramen a visit and stated sorrowfully that he could no longer take Naruto out for ramen every day. Coincidentally, that was also the same time as when the Third had stopped doing the extra missions.

* * *

As Iruka's head once again inflated to ridiculous size, Naruto stopped laughing abruptly. Despite that, he couldn't seem to wipe that grin of his face. Shikamaru, raising his head from his desk to stare at Naruto, abruptly felt a shiver run down his spine. That smile, seemed to be… evil. Shikamaru knew that smile. It was a smile that his mother sometimes got on her face, normally when she was about to get him out of bed through... various methods. He didn't know how and he didn't know when, but he did know that that smile meant that someone, somewhere, would be having problems. He just hoped it wasn't him. "Troublesome." Verdict reached, he lay his head down on his desk and went back to sleep.

"Naruto, would you care to share with the class the reasons as to why you find this so funny?" Naruto's smile widened as he slowly turned his head around and up to look Iruka directly in the eye. Warning bells, sirens and alarms went off in Iruka's head. "Nothing much Iruka-sensei… I'm just thinking about all the pranks that I could pull off once I get this technique down." Naruto began to chuckle softly and Iruka made a mental note to pass on a warning to the ANBU. He also thought it wise to get a letter of amnesty from the Hokage.

* * *

Naruto tuned out Iruka as he continued the lecture. What to do now that he had this knowledge. The first and most obvious use of the technique would be to use it to get to places where he wasn't allowed to go. The ANBU headquarters came to mind… suddenly, his thought process was interrupted.

"_Kid, you're not thinking big enough. Try and think a bit outside the box. You're good at that right?"_

"What do you mean?"

Naruto was pulled back into his mindscape. He had the feeling that he would be spending a lot of time here in the future. Looking around, he finally spotted Shinigami sitting in a comfortable looking sofa in front of a _wide_ screen T.V. Shinigami gestured to the seat next to him. _"Take a load off. I'll get the movie started." _Shrugging, the adaptable boy flopped onto the sofa and watched as placed a disk into the machine and grabbed a remote. _"Alright. Skip, skip, skip, skip, ooh, Zabuza arc! Skip, skip, skip, second exam, prelims, final, invasion… fast-forward. Ah! Here we are!"_

Naruto watched as the fight between him and Gaara played out. Shinigami had fast-forwarded to a very specific point, where Naruto transformed Gamabunta into the Nine-tailed fox. **"I AM TOUCHED KIT, I NEVER KNEW THAT YOU THOUGHT OF ME SO HIGHLY."**

"Actually, it's more along the lines of that I can never seem to get out of my mind."

Kyuubi laughed. **"SO SORRY TO DISSAPOINT KIT, BUT I DON'T SWING THAT WAY." **Naruto paused, processing what the Demon had just said, before retching and dry heaving for a minute or two. Fortunately, he hadn't actually had anything to eat that day. He hated to think about what would happen to him if he threw up on the Death God's furniture.

"BAKA FOX! THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!" As Kyuubi sniggered, loudly, Shinigami paused the movie. _"There! Do you see it?"_

"... No."

Shinigami slapped himself in the face. _"Why do I even bother? Look kid – you were able to transform something else!"_

"…So?"

"_**Oh for the love of –**__ to the training dojo." _Naruto strode behind the stiff backed Shinigami, his legs slightly shaky. It appeared that he had upset the dude. Naruto gulped. He did not want to fight a pissed of Lord of the Dead.

Once they reached the area, Shinigami concentrated and the floor of the dojo was suddenly littered with all manner of debris. A second later and he had changed into his Hades persona. Throwing off his cloak to reveal his bulked up figure, Shinigami drew his sword and got into a guard position. _"Now fight me. Weapons, taijutsu and henge only. Kyuubi if you could start the match?"_

"**BEGIN!"**

Naruto immediately charged forward streaking towards Shinigami. Shinigami leveled his sword at Naruto. _"Henge." _The sword instantly became twenty feet long and Naruto was forced to leap into the air to avoid impalement, throwing kunai at his opponent as he did so. _"Henge." _The sword became a metal umbrella, which acted as a shield against the kunai. Shinigami grabbed a single kunai out of the air in response. _"Henge," _Naruto twisted in the air trying to avoid the incoming projectile, gasping slightly at the cut that the windmill shuriken dealt him. Yet he was still able to grab the shuriken and, completing his twist, threw it at a much greater speed, targeting the figure below, who had not moved from his spot. Shinigami place his hand on one of the small boulders next to him. _"Henge." _A wall of stone materialized in front of him, blocking the incoming weapon. Naruto landed on the ground, almost in range. He threw four shuriken to lead his way. Somehow lazily, yet still incredibly quickly, Shinigami moved his hand, touching each one in turn and whispering _"henge,"_ with each touch. Flowers fell to the floor. Naruto was in range now and immediately threw a scything kick to the Shinigami's head. _"Henge." _Only for the kick to hit nothing but air as the Shingami become two feet shorter. Placing his hand on Naruto's shirt, he said again. _"Henge." _Naruto stumbled, as his shirt became lead, the unexpected weight pulling him off balance. "Henge," he cried, transforming it back into its previous form as he used the stumble to move into a sweep kick. _"Henge." _Once again, the kick hit nothing as Shinigami transformed into a small black cat that dropped to floor from a height of three feet. Immediately, the cat streaked through the slight gap in between Naruto's legs. Naruto froze as he felt the point of a kunai pressed against the back of his head. Slowly, he turned around to see Shinigami smiling slightly at him. _"Henge," _he said and this time, it was a statement. _"With this technique, you can control the weight, the shape, the very form of the objects around you. You can use it to change your shape into something smaller, larger, something with claws, something with fangs, something with wings, something with gills. The possibilities are endless. This has the potential to be one of the few techniques where the only limit it has is that of the user. The only limit the true henge has, is your own imagination." _As he finished, there was a burst of smoke as every object returned to normal.

* * *

Naruto had a lot to think about. He had just had his ass completely and totally handed to him, he had been fighting against a god, but still, that didn't mean that he had to just accept it. But it had shown him that there were so many things that could be done with the henge, so many things that Naruto could barely get his head around it. Of course, the technique could not do everything. Naruto, Shinigami and even Kyuubi had spent the past two hours and a bit trying to thrash out all the rules that came with the technique. Kyuubi was surprisingly, exceedingly knowledgeable about the entire thing. He said that many Kitsune liked to transform into a great deal of different forms in order to screw around with 'mortals.' It made Naruto wonder if perhaps he had been given a special ability when the Kyuubi was sealed into him after all. It may have gone faster if it weren't for a couple of distractions. First of all, Naruto had been distracted about ten minutes in. Why? Well, Hinata had woken up. Naruto had quickly undertaken to tell Hinata what had happened. Hinata had listened intently to every word he had said; simply enjoying the sound of his voice and the fact that he thought her worth the time it took to help her. Afterwards, she had even been able to answer the questions that Iruka-sensei had asked her. Naruto felt proud of his success as a teacher. The distraction that lasted the longest however was when Arlia showed up after tracking her husband down. It wasn't pretty.

* * *

_Flashback_

A bright pink door abruptly appeared in the middle of Naruto's mindscape, with flowers and hearts adorned over its surface. Shinigami immediately paled, before throwing himself at the opening door, slamming it shut. He gestured a hand and the door became surrounded by chains that pulsed with a powerful black aura. Shinigami sighed in relief, before turning back around. All that was left of the blood in his face drained as he stared into the eyes of his wife.

"_A-A-Arlia! W-What are you doing here my love?" _Arlia closed her eyes taking a deep breath in, before opening them with a snap, revealing a pair of violent gold orbs. The Lord of the Underworld flinched at her glare.

"I think, dear, that you know why I am here." The Death God whimpered pitifully. Arlia began to grow, in height, stature and overall scariness. "This, my love, is a reckoning."

* * *

Half an hour of gratuitous pain later, during which Kyuubi spent most of the time laughing his ass off, Shinigami managed to wheeze out a message through both his slightly crushed windpipe and the foam that had started to gather at the corners of his mouth. Although it was difficult to make out, Naruto could understand a few words regarding what he had said. _"Sent boy… back time… girl lives… here help him… her," _after that, Naruto couldn't hear what he said. Whatever it was though, it was effective, as Arlia stopped strangling him and patted him playfully on the cheek. "That's my husband, always trying to make me happy. I do love you, you know. But," here she grabbed his cheek and pulled on it painfully. "If you ever take off to another dimension without telling me about it again, especially when I have plans… well, I'll just leave that to your imagination, shall I?" She knew that the Death God had a much more sadistic imagination than she did.

Getting off of him, she sighed dramatically. "Now, as much as I hate to do this. I am going to have to punish you." A wide smile materialised on Shinigami's face. "No, not that kind of punishment, pervert!" Shinigami swallowed noticeably. At this point, Naruto interrupted. "Wait… didn't you just punish him." Arlia looked over, noticing Naruto for the first time. "Oh! Hi there Sweety! It's good to see you again! How's Hinata?" Naruto's grin seemed to be far too wide for his face. "Alive, thanks to you." Arlia waved her hand dismissively, denying the praise.

"Don't thank me young man, you were the one who gathered all the power to send yourself back through time. Caused quite a stir in the court of the God's doing it as well." Naruto he dismissed his feat, remarking airily. "Oh that, that was nothing." Arlia, Shinigami and Kyuubi snorted as one. Surprisingly, Arlia's was the loudest. Naruto grinned. "No, really. I had a clone on the way back to the village from Takigakure with a bottle of Hero Water. Only thing is that the clone had to go a bit slower so that it would be sure not to disperse. Unfortunately, my clone wouldn't have been able to make it in time, so I had to go without it. But if I had it, then put Sage mode on top of that I could have multiplied the amount of chakra I had by about fifty times!" Complete silence greeted this statement. "Kid," Arlia said seriously. "You have no idea how lucky you really are do you?"

"No. Why?"

"Sweety, I was already arguing with my father to let you live and not cause your immediate death. He was thinking a freak lightning bolt. You know that great amounts of power cause a kind of pressure don't you?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah that's why I can get stones and stuff to rise off the ground when I focus my chakra."

Arlia nodded. "Naruto… if you had fifty times the amount of power that you were throwing around, then every kami in the Court, myself and maybe my husband included, would make a deliberate act, in concert, using _all_ our powers, to incinerate you on the spot, lest the mere pressure created by that power destroyed your world, thereby releasing that power, to destroy that dimension. I'll say one thing though. That stunt you pulled has made you the center of attention of the Court of the Gods, for a short while at least."

"_No mortal should have such power. It makes Kami get scared."_

"Oh, that's right," Arlia said, changing the subject at the mention of her father. "We were talking about your punishment weren't we?"

"So that wasn't a punishment?" Naruto asked, getting back onto his original tract.

"Oh heavens no! That was just a little boisterous greeting after being unwillingly separated from my husband for so long." Shinigami started to sob quietly. Naruto shook his head. Despite being an all-powerful immortal being, he was so whipped. Honestly, there was _no one_ who would ever be able to do that to him, Naruto thought, ignoring the slight sense of foreboding. Back out in the real world, Hinata wiped her nose daintily with a handkerchief. '_Damn cold. I just can't stop sneezing!"_

* * *

"Of course, I suppose that I could forgive you…" hope crossed Shinigami's features like a ray of sunshine. "Provided of course that certain terms of mine are met."

Shinigami grimaced. Her terms were generally not something that he enjoyed fulfilling. You wouldn't your eyes if you ever saw the garden he had to build her in the underworld after some silly little argument they had had several millennia ago. What was it even about? Oh yes… he had given that annoying little fuzz bucket Cerberus an extra pair of heads because it had not been doing its duty as a guard dog. She had been a bit upset about that… mind you, the hound became a much better watchdog, he had even been able to hire it out a couple of times to guard other important places and things. Like the time with that half-giant when he needed something fluffy to guard some sort of rock. Ah yes… that had been the week long unlimited shopping spree in Paris, New York, a week long in each place. And that was just in one dimension… _"What sort of condition?"_ he asked warily. Arlia smiled sunnily at him.

"It seems to me as if you people are going to be having a bit of fun around here and I want in. So, if you let me tag along from time to time, then all is forgiven."

Shinigami let out the breath of air he had been holding. That sounded easy enough. Unfortunately, there was one rather significant problem. _"I'm afraid I can't do that dear." _Shinigami backed away slowly as his wife advanced on him. '_Oh shit, she's growing again!'_ He really, _really_, hated this time of the month. _"Wait! Wait! Wait! I never said that it couldn't be done! I just said that __**I **__could not do it!"_ Arlia shrunk back down to normal.

"Explain."

"_You see dear, the seal isn't actually mine. It technically belongs to the kid over there and therefore, I am unable to give you permission to actually stay here."_

Arlia brightened considerably. "That's fine! I'll just ask Naruto then! So Sweety, what do you say? Will you let me stay here every now and again so that I can be with my darling husband?"

Naruto was about to agree immediately, but after seeing the pleading expression on Shinigami's face a sly thought came to him. "Arlia, if you don't mind me asking, how bad are your punishments?"

"Brutal," she said with a smile.

Naruto nodded. "And how often does Shinigami take the punishment if there is a way out?"

"He did it once. Once."

"So I'd be doing him a big favor if I got him out of this situation then?"

Arlia crinkled her brow, trying to see where Naruto was going with this. "Yeeees."

"So I think it fair to say that this would be worth at least a solid you owe me…"

The corners of Arlia's mouth turned upwards in a large grin. She loved her husband dearly, but she loved teasing him almost just as much. And it wasn't often that she was able to one up him and something that happened even less regularly was a mortal get one up over him. "Yes, Naruto. Yes it would. Wouldn't you agree my dear?"

Shinigami just sighed and waved to give them the go ahead. Naruto smiled. "Arlia, I would be happy to allow you to stay around when you wish to."

Arlia smiled the sweet smile of an angel at Naruto. Shinigami, however, just sighed, his debt to the boy further increased. "Now then," Arlia stated. "What was it that you were talking about?"

_Flashback end_

* * *

Although it had taken them a while, the four of them had figured out most of the rules for the true henge. Despite it being technically possible to transform another person, it turned out that this could only be done if one had that persons consent, otherwise their own chakra would prevent the transformation from taking place. Same as for pretty much everything else that had chakra running through it. Naruto could only transform objects that he was in contact with. When transforming an object, the transformation would only last for a certain amount of time, dependent upon how much chakra was used in the technique, unless he manually disrupted the technique. And then there was the amount of time it actually took to transform and object. Turns out that the better the chakra control, the quicker an object could be transformed. Although, by cutting the detail of the transformation and by practicing the same transformation over and over again, the time could be greatly decreased. Shinigami, it turned out, had absolutely perfect control over whatever it was that he used to power his techniques… bastard. "_I heard that." _Naruto cringed. Anyway… it would be a while before Naruto could change everything around him into anything in less than a split second. Even longer to do it with no handseals and no smoke. But the worst thing in Naruto's mind at least, was transforming into animals. Apparently, you needed to know the animal quite literally inside and out before you were able to transform into it, otherwise something may go in the wrong place and you'll end up dead. Turns out that at the moment the only animal he could safely transform into was a golden fox. A side effect of having the Lord of Foxes living in your gut. Which meant that Shinigami would be forcing him to do the one thing that he hated more than anything else… study. But that would come later. Right now, he had to wait for the rest of this school day to- the bell rang. Naruto grinned "perfect timing."

* * *

Naruto bolted out of the door as fast as he could, only to screech to a halt when Arlia commanded him to stop. He had already decided that it would be best for his health if he obeyed the majority of her suggestions with extreme prejudice. Taking her up on her advice, Naruto went up and asked Hinata a question. "Hey Hinata-chan!" he called, trying to stop her from walking off. Hinata just froze up, like a bird staring at a snake. Naruto frowned. He didn't like that analogy. Then he brightened considerably. 'No, like a rabbit staring at a fox.' With his own foxy grin plastered onto his face, Naruto caught up with Hinata. "Hey Hinata-chan, I was wondering, do you mind if I walk you home?" Hinata went a bright red. "Not like a date or anything," Naruto said hastily, afraid that she might get the wrong meaning. Inside his seal, Shinigami and Kyuubi face palmed as one. Arlia just looked furious. Not noticing the slightly disappointed look on Hinata's face, Naruto continued. "You see, I enjoyed talking to you in the class and was hoping that I could do it some more."

Hinata went even redder and began to stutter out her acceptance. But much to her disappointment, she just couldn't get the words out of her mouth. "Of course, I don't have to do it if you don't want me to…" Naruto's voice trailed off dejectedly. Hinata's eyes widened. She couldn't let this chance just slip her by!

"Hai!" she said loudly, well, loudly for her anyway. "I w-w-would l-l-lo," no, she couldn't say that word yet, "like y-your c-c-comp-pany N-N-N-Naruto-kun." She looked up into his eyes, those bright blue eyes and her heart clenched. Naruto brightened considerably. "Believe it!" All of a sudden, he was hauled back into his mindscape with brute force and found himself with his feet dangling above the ground eye to flaming eye with the Shinigami, who had become his Death Reaper self, his skeletal hands fisted in Naruto's shirt.

"_Let's get one thing straight, right here, right now. If you even think about starting with all that 'believe it' bullshit, then screw the debt I owe you. I will bloody well end you myself, send you to the underworld in your fox form and let loose the hounds of hell. You'll spend most of your afterlife as dog crap! Do you fucking understand me?"_

"SIR, YES SIR!"

"_Good! I am so glad that we understand one another."_ Arlia came up to him and laid a slender hand on his bony shoulder. "He gets it Gami-kun, now send him back to his girl. _"As you wish," _so saying, Shinigami drew one arm back, still holding Naruto, and pitched him like a baseball. He suddenly found himself back in the real world. Startled, he looked around to find that Hinata was walking away from him. Puzzled, he moved off to go to her. 'And she's not my girl,' he thought. Arlia just laughed at him.

* * *

Hinata was walking away her head down and tears in her eyes. She had just realized something. This was not Naruto-kun and thanks to the imposters own lesson, she knew how it was possible: the henge no jutsu. Yet he had made a number of mistakes. The real Naruto-kun would have sat next to Sakura-san when he saw that there was a free seat next to her. The real Naruto-kun would have been wearing one of his orange jumpsuits. The real Naruto-kun wouldn't have explained the transformation technique so well after only hearing it once. The real Naruto had never called her chan before. The real Naruto would never ask if he could walk home with her. And then there were his eyes. Hinata knew his eyes, probably better than she knew her own. These eyes were similar, but different. They were the eyes of someone different, someone older. Naruto's eyes were always bright pools that she could lose herself in, but they… danced. Those pools never stayed still, always moved, flowing, changing. They were always filled with untamed emotions, emotions that constantly shifted and changed. They could be sad, happy, mischievousness, joyful, lonely, angry and all within the space of just a couple of seconds. This person's eyes were different. No longer an ever-shifting ocean. They had become harder, more set in their direction, now resembling a sapphire gem. These eyes held experience, they were the eyes of someone who had known loss and overcome it. She had eyes seen like these on Kurenai and Asuma. Eyes of a veteran, eyes of a warrior, eyes of someone who knew without a shadow of a doubt what their goals were and would do what was needed to be done to accomplish those goals. And finally, these eyes held something that her Naruto-kun almost never had. Knowledge. These were the eyes, of a ninja.

* * *

"Hinata! Neh, Hinata-chan, what's the matter?" He folded over at the waist as Hinata sent a Jūken strike straight into his stomach. "Don't call me that," she hissed angrily, not stuttering once. Somehow, somebody had found out about her crush on Naruto-kun and was using that knowledge to play some sort of horrible trick on her. Now, normally, Hinata is a very quiet, shy girl who could take a lot of abuse from others without getting angry, just sad. This was different. Someone was using Naruto's face to get close to her, to make her feel as if someone did not think her to be worthless, no more than that, they were trying to make her think that _he _did not think she was worthless. They were trying to break her. And worse, they were using _his_ face. This did not make Hinata feel sad, nor did it make her angry. It made her pissed as hell.

"Sorry, Hinata-san. I guess I should have asked you before I called you chan." Hinata's eyes just narrowed at him. She turned on her heel and stalked away from him. Naruto grew sorrowful. 'Damn, I must have really messed up.'

"Does this mean that you won't let me walk home with you?" he asked, his voice slightly depressed. Hinata stopped once more. "I would… if you were really Naruto-kun."

Naruto stopped, his mouth opening and closing rapidly. "But… I really am Naruto!" Naruto's head snapped to the side as Hinata slapped him, her eyes filled with tears.

"Don't. Just don't. Why are you doing this to me? What did I do that was so cruel that I deserve this? Who are you?"

"Naruto Uzumaki."

"Don't lie!" Hinata almost shouted, tears starting to come from her eyes. "I don't know who you are, but you aren't the same Naruto-kun that was here just yesterday!"

Naruto froze. How did she… "What do you mean?"

"Your eyes. They are not the same. You have the eyes of an older person. Those are not the same eyes as the Naruto-kun that I know!" At this, Naruto's eyes widened.

"_How on earth could she tell that something is different from him in just three hours by looking at his eyes?" _Shinigami whispered, hiding his words from his just smirked.

"In a couple of years, she would have been able to tell the difference in under half an hour. That boy is her inspiration. She's watched him for a long time. A very long time. Hinata… she probably knows Naruto better than he knows himself." After her explanation, she spoke to Naruto directly. "Naruto… ask her what you can do to prove that you are who you say you are."

Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand as she started to walk away. She just pulled it from his grasp. "Hinata… what can I do to prove to you that I am who I saw I am?"

Hinata's eyes narrowed. So be it. She would play this game. "Fine. What is the name of your fox wallet?"

Naruto blinked and slowly took out his anorexic amphibian wallet. "It's a toad wallet Hinata-ch… - Hinata-san. His name is Gama-chan and I found it outside my front door on my birthday. It had a note on it saying that it was from a friend. I was so happy when I found that note. It showed me that I wasn't completely alone in this world."

Hinata blinked. She had been the one to give Naruto Gama-chan to Naruto. She had no idea that it had actually meant so much to him, if it really was him. This was all so confusing. She could not refute the differences between this Naruto and the normal Naruto-kun. But surely only the normal Naruto-kun would know that entire story. She had never actually heard him tell the whole story to anyone before. Feeling more than a little bit nervous, she decided to use a method that would prove beyond a doubt that this person in front of her really was, or was not Naruto-kun. Slowly, she nodded her head. Naruto grinned foxily at her.

"Cool, does that mean that you believe that I am who I say I am?" for some reason, he felt intensely relieved. That feeling of relief left him with no sign of it having ever being there at her next words.

"N-no, not y-yet. Th-there is one m-m-more t-test that I w-would like t-to do."

"What's that?" Naruto asked warily.

"O-out of e-every p-person th-that I-I've ever s-seen, only N-Naruto-kun has red ch-chakra running through his ch-chakra c-coils. If I u-use my b-byakugan, and c-can see that ch-chakra, then I'll kn-know that y-you really are N-Naruto-kun."

* * *

Naruto froze. All of a sudden, he could feel the sweat trickling down the back of his spine. "How do you know about the red chakra?" Hinata merely tapped the side of her face next to her right eye. "I've seen it," she said dryly.

Naruto swore silently. _'Shinigami?'_

"_Yes?"_

'_Please tell me that the changes you made in my seal won't mean that Hinata will be unable to see any of Kyuubi's chakra in my system.'_

"_Um… Maybe?"_

'_Maybe?'_

"_Probably?"_

'_Probably?'_

"_Alright! The youkai is in quantities that are much smaller than they used to be and are quickly overwhelmed by your own chakra. She won't be able to see squat!"_

'_Oh. I see… well shit."_

"Come on you two. Don't be such drama queens. All that you need to do is ask Kyuubi over there to give you a little more chakra. Problem solved!" Arlia broke in.

'_Hey you're right!'_

Turning back to Hinata, he explained to her. "Alright, fine. I'll show you my red chakra. Just give me second to get it up and running. I've been trying to control that chakra, cause it really messes with my control, so it may take a while before you see anything." Hinata nodded slowly, before holding up two fingers in front of her face. "Byakugan!" She was confronted by Naruto's completely blue chakra system. It was ridiculously overdeveloped for someone his age and size, but it was blue, with not even a hint of red.

* * *

Naruto put his hands together and concentrated. _'So Fox, you want to give me some chakra already?'_

Although Naruto could not see it, he could hear the evil grin in Kyuubi's voice as he spoke a single word. "**NO."**

Naruto nearly face vaulted and entered his mindscape to scream almost incoherently at the Kitsune. _'WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO!'_

Kyuubi lazily picked his teeth with the tip of one of his tails.** "THINK OF THIS AS REVENGE FOR WHAT YOU DID TO ME WHEN YOU TURNED BACK THE CLOCK. YOU TORE OFF THE SEAL AND THEN HAD THE AUDACITY TO TAKE MY POWER, **_**ALL**_** OF MY POWER, FOR YOUR OWN USE. YOU DID IT FOR THIS GIRL. BY WITHHOLDING MY POWER FROM YOU NOW, SHE WILL HATE YOU AND YOU WILL NEVER BE LOVED BY HER. A FITTING PUNISHMENT."**

Hearing this, Shinigami winced. _"Shouldn't have done that."_

Arlia's voice came to Naruto in a comforting tone as she placed her hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Don't you worry about thing Sweety. I'll take care of this." Her eyes flashed back to a golden color. "In fact, it'll be my pleasure." As she was finishing her last sentence, she began to walk towards Kyuubi's cage, growing as she did so. Shinigami sidled up to Naruto. _"You may want to leave now kid. If she's about to do what I think she's planning on, then to witness it could mentally scar you for life."_

Naruto swallowed. "What is it?"

"_One of the most terrible techniques known to mankind. You see, my wife is quite realistically one of the worst matchmakers in the cosmos and she gets extremely pissed off at anyone that tries to ruin her fun." _Shinigami gave Naruto a little push and he was suddenly outside again. Yet he could still hear what was going on.

"Give the boy some chakra."

"**NO."**

"Strike one. Give the boy some chakra. I will not let you ruin this for me."

"**NO. GET OUT OF MY CAGE."**

"Strike two. Now come on Kyuubi. You really don't want what will happen to you if you reach three strikes."

"… **FUCK OFF, BITCH."**

"Strike. Three." Naruto could easily hear the icy cold anger in her voice. "Supreme Women's Art: KICK IN THE BALLS NO JUTSU!" A high pitched, keening yelp, bordering on the ultrasonic, suddenly split Naruto's skull, lasting a good thirty seconds. When it finished, Naruto heard what sounded like a sigh of contentment coming from Arlia.

"**my unborn children****,****" **Kyuubi whimpered pitifully.

"That, Kyuubi no Kitsune, Lord of the Demons, was stage one. Now do you really want to see and… experience… stage two?"

"_It involves an axe," _Shinigami added helpfully. Chakra suddenly flooded Naruto's system.

* * *

Hinata had watched unblinkingly as the person in front of concentrated. Nothing was happening. The chakra system remained as blue as his eyes. Hinata felt the small hope that she had allowed to grow in her chest whither and die. She had been right. This was not Naruto-kun. She had been right, but she still felt so disappointed. It had been like a dream come true when he had come and sat next to her, when he had called her chan and when… when he had held her hand. But that dream had been a false reality. Sighing feeling slightly depressed, she began to turn off her bloodline limit, when a flicker caught her eye. Stopping, she stared closely at Naruto's stomach. Red flooded out in a swirl, invading his chakra system and running throughout his chakra system. Red chakra. "Satisfied?" Naruto asked, a foxy grin on his features.

"N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata's eyes widened as the telltale veins around them receded. She was going over the events that had passed in the last few minutes. Her, giving Naruto a Jūken strike straight in the solar plexus. Shouting at him. _Slapping_ him. Wrenching her hand away from him. She had done all that… in front of and even _to_, Naruto-kun. As this last thought hit her, she did her own impression of a tomato, before falling back gracefully to the floor in a dead faint.

Naruto let out the breath he had been holding, relieved. Apparently, she believed him. But now what? He couldn't just leave her here. Forcing a dramatic sigh, he leaned down and picked her up bridal style. He had not gone to steps before he froze, his body stiff as he felt Hinata snuggle up closer to him, a small sigh of contentment passing her lips. Feeling slightly suspicious, Naruto stared down at her face. No, she was still unconscious. Blushing slightly at the peaceful expression on her face, Naruto started walking towards where Kurenai usually picked Hinata up. "You know," he said out loud, his voice quiet. "I could probably get used to this."

* * *

Author's Notes:

Another chapter done. And I've broken the 30,000 word mark! Please don't expect me to be regular in my updates. I'm not that organized. Just had some free time and I had 99 reviews. Kept thinking one more, just one more. Must break one hundred reviews. Arlia joining in won't be in every chapter. It just helped me iron out a few details. Cyber cookie to anyone who can guess what she is God of. Naruto will maybe come into contact with a couple of other heavenly beings, well, one for certain. None of them will act directly in the story and none of them will be showering him with gifts. That would mean a god like Naruto and most of those stories get real old, real fast. I'm just giving Naruto a few tweaks. Naruto will become powerful, but it will be a long time before someone like Kakashi can't kick his ass on a regular basis. As for his previous/future/present abilities, they will probably be explained in the next chapter. The story will not follow canon the entire time. Hope that answers most of your questions. Anyway, read, review, then review again! TwiceMarked out.

P.S. Does anyone know what 'Namikaze' actually means? I know the Kaze means wind, but not sure about the rest.


	8. Good Times and Bad

Authors Note

Man, these chapters are starting to get longer and longer. Thanks to all those who reviewed the last chapter. Heck, thanks to all those who reviewed! Not as much humor in this chapter. It will be back, but I can't put it into every chapter. Another small fight scene in this chapter. Sorry for those who are wanting fights of epicness. At this stage, the only fights have been between people who have vast gaps in strength. So naturally, they tend to end very quickly.

Disclaimer: It's nearly 2 a.m. in the morning here! I don't have time to go on about how I don't own Naruto!

* * *

Chapter 8

Good Times and Bad

Kurenai had been waiting for Hinata to arrive t their meeting place for a good twenty minutes now and was beginning to get more than a little bit worried. Hinata was usually a very punctual person, not at all like that one-eyed pervert with the gravity defying hair. Kurenai hated perverts as wells as unpunctuality, two traits which Kakashi pretty much embodied, although Kurenai could and did cut him more than a little slack. When someone had been living life as a ninja as long as she had, you were bound to lose some friends. Something like that scarred you, leaving wounds that took a long time in healing. And Kurenai hadn't lost nearly as many precious people as Kakashi had. The Genjutsu Mistress closed her eyes and let out a slightly irritated sigh. She cared for Hinata as the little sister that she never had. Sometimes, her feelings were much more maternal. Even so, the girl better have a good excuse for being late. When she opened her eyes again, it was to see a rather short figure walking towards her with a seemingly unconscious Hinata in his arms.

"Yo! You're Kurenai Yuuhi aren't you?" the black figure asked. Kurenai was unable to make out his face with that hood over his face. Naruto, however, was able to make out quite a lot due to the slightly revealing outfit that Kurenai wore on a regular basis.

"_You know, she's kinda hot."_

WHAAANGGGG!

"_Not nearly as hot as you are my dear,"_ Shinigami continued in a slurred voice._ "Please put frying pan down. I'll be good."_

"It would seem that you have me at a disadvantage. You know who I am, yet I have been unable to recognize you," Kurenai said drily.

Naruto pouted. Maybe this is how Shino felt, he wondered. "Ah well, I suppose I can forgive you, but you would do well to remember your future boss!" he exclaimed.

Something clicked in Kurenai's head. There were not many people in the village (at all) who were able to speak so casually and yet with such an obnoxious tone of voice. And her boss was the Hokage. Put the two together and there was really only one possible candidate for the identity of the person in front of her.

"Naruto-kun?"

Naruto smiled, flinging his head back to show some of his features, including that unique hair color of his, at the same time being very careful not to wake up Hinata. "Got it in one Kurenai-san." He smiled impishly at her.

Kurenai frowned she of course knew of Hinata's crush on the boy and was therefore a little worried about her charge. "May I ask what you are doing with Hinata-chan?" she asked in an icy tone. Naruto looked at her quizzically.

"Carrying her?" he said in a slightly confused tone.

"Why are you carrying her?" Kurenai asked, the danger levels in her voice rising.

* * *

Unbeknownst to Naruto, the three immortal beings resident inside his gut were making some rather disparaging remarks about Kurenai's paranoia.

"Come on! The kids are only eleven years old!" Arlia ranted. "They probably still believe in cooties for Kami's sake!"

"**TRUE, BUT YOU MUST REMEMBER THAT THANKS TO YOUR HUSBAND, SENT THE KID BACK WITH THE MIND OF A SIXTEEN YEAR OLD. AT THAT AGE A HUMAN MALE **_**REALLY**_** STARTS NOTICING GIRLS."**

"So in effect we have an eleven year old boy with the libido of someone five years older?" Arlia asked. Kyuubi chuckled evilly, Shinigami gulped. His wife was not going to like this.

"Did you know that this would happen dear?" Arlia asked.

"_No?"_ Shinigami said nervously. Arlia just sighed.

"Men," she said in a disgusted tone.

* * *

Naruto, who was unaware of the conversation that was going on in his head, simply stared at Kurenai quizzically. "Well Kurenai-san, Hinata-chan fainted in the middle of the street. I couldn't just leave her there, so I picked her up. Since I know that she normally meets you here, I just brought her over. I don't know what's the matter with her though. Do you think she's sick? Maybe we should take her to the hospital?"

Kurenai relaxed. It seems as if her suspicions were unwarranted. "Well thank you Naruto-kun. Your help is much appreciated. Now if you would just hand Hinata to me, I'll take her home. Don't worry, she's not sick."

Naruto just grinned at her cheekily. "Nah, that's alright Kurenai-san. I asked Hinata-chan if I could walk her home. I sat next to her today and she was very nice. So I wanted to talk to her a bit more. Since we're going in the same direction, I may as well continue carrying her. Besides, it's not like I mind. In fact, I kind of like it." Naruto's smile got a little bit wider as a slight blush tinged his cheeks.

On the inside, Shinigami winced, while his wife crowed at her small victory. _'Rule number one kid: do not admit that you like touching a girl to her mother figure.' _ Shinigami thought.

Kurenai froze, taking in the blush and Naruto's words. "Pervert," she breathed, taking out a kunai in a purely instinctual manner before taking a single step towards Naruto, leaking a potent killing intent.

Naruto stepped back worriedly, cursing his lack of muscle control and absently aware that he had just committed some kind of social mistake. Seeing the intention of the woman in front of him and realizing that castration would probably put a dampener in his day, he acted instinctually. "Hypocrite!" he cried challengingly, pointing an accusatory finger at Kurenai from underneath Hinata's legs. Kurenai froze.

"What?" she asked angrily.

"I said hypocrite, otherwise known as a charlatan. Someone who accuses a person of being or doing something while being or doing the same thing." Naruto's explanation was patient, as if he were talking to someone far younger than him.

Kurenai flushed. _'Cheeky brat.'_ She glared at him. "All right brat, I suggest your next words carefully," she said as she licked the edge of her kunai. _'I think I may have been spending __**way **__too much time with Anko. Although, her tactics do usually get results._

Naruto just grinned. Although her actions were slightly off putting, he had seen way worse. He held up a hand showing her the V sign. "Two words. Asuma Sarutobi." Naruto almost laughed out loud as Kurenai went a Hinata red. Oh yes, he could see some of the benefits of time travel now. He knew things before they happened, which meant that he had a lot of dirt on a lot of people. Oh, wait; Kurenai seems to have regained her mental facilities. "H-how did you know?" Kurenai asked, stuttering just a little. Naruto snorted.

"Oh please? The blush when you see him, the slight lack of confidence when you're talking to him, the way you seem to hang onto his every word, or treat him with a large amount of indifference, depending on your mood. Plus, and this a big one, the way you stare at him like a piece of meat when you think that nobody's looking." Naruto finished this with a smirk on his face. "I mean, it's kind of obvious if you know what you're looking for." Kurenai sweat dropped at his words. He could tell about her crush on Asuma, but was completely oblivious to the one that Hinata had on him?

"What do you mean a piece of meat?" Kurenai muttered. Naruto just grinned. "How is it that you know so much anyway?" Naruto just sighed.

"No offence Kurenai-san, but it's not as if many people pay attention to me. In fact, they outright try to ignore me. Thing that they don't realize is, that while they might not be looking at me, I'm always looking at them." Naruto shrugged. "In any other clothes other than my jumpsuit, I'm all but invisible to them because they make it so. I'm a Nobody. People act more like themselves when nobody is around."

Kurenai blinked. His words had a strange wisdom to them, yet they were tinged with the loneliness that she felt sure he must feel. Nodding understandingly, she started walking towards the Hyuuga compound. Since Hinata spent the entire time passed out in Naruto's arms, he was not able to talk to her as he had wanted to. However, he was able to learn some interesting things about Hinata from Kurenai. The fact that Hinata had become nothing more than outcast within her own clan made his blood boil and his heart clench. He had always had nobody and thought that that was the worst things that could ever happen to somebody. And then he had started to understand Sasuke after Jiraiya had died. Sasuke had so much, so many bonds, but then they were all taken away from him in an instant. That was just as bad as what he had had. And now he learnt of another form of loneliness, one that might just be worse. Hinata was surrounded by family people who should have done there utmost to protect and nurture her. Instead, her family treated her like she was completely worthless. She went through every day being ridicule, pushed down and beaten by those that she held to be precious. Why? Because she was kind, because she was shy. The mere thought of it made Naruto want to hurl. He was strong, he knew that, but would he have been able to bear as much as she had? Probably. Maybe. He was glad he never had to.

* * *

All too soon Naruto sighted the walls of the Hyuuga Complex. Naruto sighed, looking down into the young face of the girl he held in his arms. She still had not woken up. The left of his lips curled into a lopsided smile at the peaceful expression that she wore, at the slight smile that graced her lips. Staring at her face though, awoke memories that he would rather have kept buried. Of a gravesite, of a funeral, her funeral. But that was then. This was now. It was then and there that Naruto made a promise to himself. Hinata did not deserve to receive all that abuse. She looked beautiful with a smile on her face and it was something that Naruto wanted to see more often. The Hyuuga's wanted their heir to be strong. He'd help her achieve that strength. She was strong on the inside, stronger than she knew. All that he needed to do was help her show that strength to the elders of her clan. This thought helped him bear the slight feeling of regret that he felt as he gestured for Kurenai to take a hold of her charge. At her question as to why, he just gave her the grin that came complete with mask, and stated that Hinata would probably get into trouble if she was seen being carried to the compound by the "Demon Brat." Before Kurenai could ask any more questions, Naruto left quickly, heading towards the Hokage heads.

* * *

Kurenai was in a bit of a quandary. The Kyuubi vessel was a person unlike any other that she had ever met. One thing for certain though, he was not anything like his reputation made him out to be an uncaring, boorish troublemaker. The comments that were made about his intelligence were likewise lacking in compliments. But in her short conversation with him, she had found otherwise. He was observant, that much was obvious; although she still couldn't understand how it was that he couldn't see the affection that Hinata held for him. In the entire conversation he had been reasonably polite, aside from a small two-minute interval when he had tried to decide on a nickname for her. His lack of intelligence had been a lie as well. There was something in his eyes that, although it did not scream book smarts or the like, they held experience and a great deal of street smarts. He knew the names and habits of several of the more important figures of Konoha, such as Asuma, Kakashi, Gai as well as, surprisingly enough, the Hokage himself. His reputation as a prankster was accurate though, if his excuse for his bad muscle co-ordination was to be believed. Too much sulfur indeed. But the most surprising discoveries of all were ones that Kurenai found out in the last few seconds before he left. She could not read the child. Most good ninja have the ability to tell what a person was thinking from the look on his or her face, from the way that they held their bodies. Kurenai was not an expert at it, but she was a good ninja and therefore had some ability in reading people. She had even thought that she was doing a pretty good job of it. But then she had seen him look at Hinata with that lopsided smile. Every sign that she had profiled him with immediately went out of the window. It was like, for a second at least, she had been staring at a completely different person. One with resolve, one with attitude, someone who had a goal, and would get there no matter what. And then, that person was gone and in front of her stood once more a young clueless kid. But she was no longer fooled. And then there was the slightly wry tone in his voice when he said "Demon Brat," almost as if he knew what the phrase actually meant. Kurenai shook her head. Sighing to herself, she rummaged around in a pocket and pulled out a vial of smelling salts that she habitually kept on her person. It was but a work of the moment to wave them underneath Hinata's nose. The young girl awoke with a start.

"Oh, Kurenai-san!" Hinata smiled up at her older friend. "I was dreaming Kurenai-san." Kurenai smiled gently at her charge. "Was it a good dream Hinata-chan?" Hinata nodded her head, a restrained nod, but still enthusiastic, for her.

"Hai, Kurenai-san, I dreamed that Naruto-kun wanted to walk me home. It was almost as if I had a friend." Kurenai smiled gently, struggling not to let her brow furrow. The girl deserved friends; it was saddening to think that she didn't have any. But this Naruto, maybe he would do.

"Hinata… It wasn't a dream." Hinata froze for a moment, her face slowly, but steadily getting redder and redder. "He said that you had fainted and then he carried you all the way here. Wouldn't let me carry you either." Hinata flushed an even brighter red and mumbled underneath her breath. Kurenai was still able to catch what she had said, however. "You could have woken me up before now." Kurenai just gaped at her. She had only been with Naruto for a couple of hours and already she was reprimanding people? Sure it was so quiet as to be nearly silent, but still! Kurenai shook her head. One thing that was for sure, there was a whole lot more to Naruto Uzumaki than what meets the eye.

* * *

Naruto sighed. "Well," he said. "That could have gone better."

"_True, but it could have gone a lot worse as well," _Shinigami stated. His tone of voice was somewhat dry.

"So… when will you be seeing your girlfriend again, Naruto-kun," asked Arlia innocently.

Naruto shrugged. "Tomorrow probably, which leaves me with a question."

"_Oh?"_

"Now what do I do?"

Kyuubi snorted. **"ISN'T IT OBVIOUS?"**

"Huh?" Kyuubi put his head on the ground and covered it with his paws. **"OF ALL THE PEOPLE, WHY DID I HAVE TO BE STUCK IN A BLIND, IGNORANT, HALF-WITTED…"** Naruto tuned the Kyuubi's voice out. He was becoming quite good at that.** YOU'VE COME HERE FROM THE FUTURE. YOUR MUSCLE CO-ORDINATION, CHAKRA CAPACITY AND CHAKRA CONTROL HAVE ALL CHANGED. **

Shinigami explained**. **_"You've come here from the future. Your muscle co-ordination, chakra capacity and chakra control have all changed. Bottom line is that you don't really even now whether or not all of your techniques are going to work. So, you're going to need to do a bit of experimenting…"_

"Ah, right… So to the training grounds?"

"_To the training grounds."_

* * *

The first thing that Shinigami had Naruto do when he reached training ground 64 was to check out the area to see whether or not there was anybody else in the area. He did not think that it would be a good idea for people to see such a young kid showing of kinjutsu and techniques going from A to S grade. It was quickly established that Naruto could still do the shadow clone jutsu, as the field was filled with some five hundred clones. Not nearly as many as he used to be able to do, but then again, his chakra reserves were quite small. Well, comparatively speaking. At this time he still had more chakra than most jonin, but at age eleven, he was still under kage level chakra reserves – just. Rather than having Naruto dispel said clones, Shinigami sent them to the perimeters of the training field, where they transformed into rocks, boulders and logs. A couple of foxes were thrown into the mix just to keep things interesting. These clones were to be used as surveillance tools in case anybody was coming close to the area. Naruto was still a bit clueless as to how the clones that had henged into boulders or rocks could actually see anything. Maybe they were the ones that would be used to send him the information? The foxes he could understand as being good at surveillance, since they actually had eyes. As for the Logs… well, was there anything that they could not do? Naruto tried to do a rasengan next and breathed a sigh of relief when the blue orb formed just above the center of his palm. Shinigami would not let him go into sage mode, stating that his chakra reserves weren't large enough to risk it just yet. _"Remember what Fukasaku said about sage made. Only those with huge chakra reserves can enter sage mode. If they do not meet this requirement, then the nature energy immediately overwhelms their own chakra and they end up as a petrified amphibian. Give yourself a year or two and by then, you'll be able to enter sage mode perfectly."_ No sage mode meant no Rasenshuriken. Naruto wasn't stupid enough to do that kind of damage to his own chakra pathways without a very good reason. Besides, Shinigami had ordered him to stop when he had first tried to form one.

* * *

_Flashback_

"_What the hell do you think you're doing?"_

"Checking to see if I can still do a Rasenshuriken?" Naruto asked curiously.

"_Idiot! You know what kind of damage that does don't you?"_

Naruto nodded. Yes, I do, but I also know that I might need to have an ace up my sleeve and the Rasenshuriken is that ace. I know that it causes damage to my hand, but I need to know if I can still do it, rather than having to try and do it in a combat situation with no practice."

"_No, no, no! We're trying to keep a low profile here remember! If you fire off an S-ranked kinjutsu, particularly __**that**__ S-ranked kinjutsu, do you think it's going to go unnoticed by all the ninja in Konoha? And what about when somebody comes to this field to train and sees the large ass crater that this technique makes. Low profile idiot! Low profile!"_

"Oh… oops."

_Flashback end_

* * *

Toad summoning was out of the question because Naruto had technically not yet signed the toad-summoning contract, which was annoying. One thing that further annoyed Naruto was that he was unable to do the substitution technique. Turns out that his chakra was too small to attempt sage mode, but still large enough to mess up with his control enough to make substitution difficult. But that wouldn't take too long to fix up. "Alright. That's it."

"_Those are all the techniques you know?"_

Naruto nodded. "Yup."

"_What about that wind style rasengan you used in that collaboration technique with Captain Yamato?"_

Naruto blinked. "Fuuton: Rasengan? You know, I had actually completely forgotten about that! After I completed the Rasenshuriken, I just used that instead of its little brother. Shinigami snorted.

"_You forgot about an S-ranked technique?"_

Naruto perked up. "S-ranked."

Shinigami sighed. _"The rasengan is a technique that takes shape manipulation to the highest possible form. It is an extremely powerful technique. Despite that, it's also incredibly inflexible. You've gotta be right up close to ram it into your opponents gut. Your Fuuton: Rasengan has all the shape manipulation of a normal rasengan. It then has an element added to it, which immediately takes it to an S-ranked technique. On top of that, as you demonstrated in your fight with Kakuzu, you can also throw the damn thing! Which means that it can be used in both mid and close ranged combat, which also acts to increase its flexibility!"_

Naruto's face split into a grin. "Cool! That means I know two S-rank jutsu! I really am awesome, aren't I?"

"_Three."_

Naruto frowned. "What?"

"_Your true henge is another S-ranked technique. You know three S-ranked jutsu. Now, Fuuton: Rasengan. Get to work."_

Nodding, Naruto formed a couple of clones and used them to form a Fuuton: Rasengan. He sighed in relief when it didn't blow up in his face, although it did take a lot longer than it used to. "Fuuton: Rasengan," he stated, before throwing it at a nearby tree. Naruto watched as the shining ball traveled quickly towards the tree, then through the tree without slowing down. And the one behind that, and the one behind that and the one behind that. Finally, it hit the ground, where it erupted into a tall, violent cyclone, which tore at the ground beneath it and cut up the surrounding foliage. Gaping slightly, Naruto moved in for a closer look, to see the destruction wrought by his previously overlooked technique. It wasn't even close to what was caused by a Rasenshuriken… but damn. It was still pretty good. _"So much for low profile," _Shinigami grumbled.

As Naruto was running from the training field, Shinigami gave him the low down on his abilities. _"So, as of now you can reliably use the Shadow clone Jutsu, the Multi shadow clone jutsu, both of which you could use more effectively, the rasengan, which you still can't do with only one hand, the Fuuton: Rasengan, which you 'forgot' about, and the henge, which you have never used to its full potential. After a bit of practice, you should also be able to do the substitution jutsu. Seriously, that's it? Your entire arsenal of techniques is based around either clones or rasengan! And even then you do most of them in a half assed manner! You're a wind element! The most varied, versatile, unpredictable element of all and you don't even reliably use it to augment your weapons!" _Shinigami just sighed, ignoring Naruto's blustering and excuses. _"We've got a long way to go."_

* * *

Two months had passed and Naruto had come a long way. The only real drawback, in Shinigami's eyes at least, was that he had taken to wearing his orange jumpsuits again. "Well you wanted low profile." Naruto had said logically. Both Shinigami and Kyuubi deadpanned. Arlia wasn't in at the time.

"_There is just so much wrong with that sentence that I don't even know where to start!"_

"… **AGREED."**

"_And the sad thing is that for him, this __**is**__profile!" _Shinigami wept, anime tears streaming down from his face.

Naruto's chakra control had increased due to his training with the tree and water walking technique. He had regained the use of the substitution jutsu and had taken out several scrolls from his dad's jutsu library. All of them dealt with wind techniques. Naruto smiled, remembering back when Shinigami had finally revealed the secondary gift that he had given Naruto when he fiddled around with his seal.

_Flashback_

"_So, you've finally got hold of some chakra paper eh? It's about bloody time. Now, even though you still haven't got that armor, I suppose I can show you what your specialty is. Channel some chakra into the paper."_

Naruto did so and watched as the paper seemingly crumbled into pieces. "WHAT! YOU CHANGED MY AFFINITY TO EARTH!" Naruto shouted, going green. An earth affinity meant that Sasuke's lightning jutsu would blow his techniques out of the water. Not to mention that his rasengan variants would become much more difficult.

Shinigami chuckled. _"Not at all. Why don't you take a closer look at that paper?"_

Frowning, Naruto bent down, picked up a small fragment and gasped. It was a perfect square, with its edges cut more neatly than if it had been done by a razor. _"I increased your affinity for wind. Added to your own wind affinity and it's now almost as potent as mine."_

Naruto blinked. "You're a wind element?"

Shinigami snorted. _"Haven't you ever heard of the 'breath of life' kid? It's my job to take that last breath of air, that last breath of wind. I do it with wind manipulation. Which means that you are going to be learning a great deal of wind techniques. I may even teach you some internalized wind jutsu to go along with all the external ones you use."_

Naruto frowned. He had never heard of 'internalized jutsu' before. You know," he said quietly. "I never thought of wind being an element used by a god. It just doesn't seem that powerful."

"_That's because people are continually underestimating it," _Shinigami sighed. _"Don't underestimate wind. The only limits it truly has is your own imagination."_

Naruto nodded his head seriously. "So… what does an increased affinity for wind mean?"

"_You'll learn wind jutsu easier. Theoretically speaking, any and every wind jutsu in the world should be possible for you to perform. They will be much more potent than they used to be, and yes, that includes your Rasenshuriken. Not only that, but with enough practice it should be possible to do most of them with only a few hand signs, or no hand signs at all. With enough training, you should be able to make the wind do pretty much anything that you want it to."_

Naruto drooled. "When do we start?"

"_Right now, with the leaf cutting exercise."_

Naruto grimaced. "Come on! That's boring!"

Shinigami grinned at Naruto ferociously. _"But instead of using leaves, we're going to be using rocks."_

_Flashback end_

* * *

Every day, before he left for the academy, Naruto would leave as many clones as he could without them being discovered in one of the farthest training grounds from the leaf village. Unfortunately, a large number of the clones would dispel throughout the day, meaning that the total amount of training that he was actually accomplishing was suffering. The solution that Shinigami had come up with had nearly sent Naruto into shock from an overdose of awesome. He had taken him a couple of weeks to get up his physical strength, just to be on the safe side, but had then gone to work to see if he could still open any of the celestial gates. He could mange two, before he started getting really messed up. But more importantly, his clones could manage one. The damage done to them by opening even a single gate meant that they would dispel after just thirty seconds. But during that time, the clone was able to perform the shadow clone jutsu… which meant that he no longer had a problem with too many clones dispelling during training. Despite this, he only had one new C-rank jutsu mastered. Fuuton: Kazeken. Wind style: Wind blade. It did exactly as it said, produced a blade of wind that was sent towards the target, cutting deeply into said target. But Shinigami only claimed that he had mastered the jutsu when he was able to successfully form it with nothing more than a flick of the wrist. No hand signs whatsoever.

The seating arrangements at the academy had been changed in the academy as well. Naruto had been sitting next to Hinata almost every single day. So far, there had only been one day when he hadn't and that was when Mizuki-teme had forbidden Naruto to sit next to the 'Hyuuga heiress.' Naruto had scowled at Mizuki and muttered under his breath. Hinata was just able to hear what he had said: "there will be a reckoning." Although she didn't know it, Naruto had picked up that phrase from Arlia over the last couple of months. He quite liked it. The next day, Mizuki was late to school. When he finally got there, his skin had been scrubbed raw, yet had done almost nothing to remove the paint and ink that stained it. He had a line in the middle of his hair, shaved bald. His clothes and he himself stank of sulfur and smoke. Dangling from each wrist was a half of a pair of handcuffs. His clothes were a bright pastel pink. Oh, and one more thing. He reeked of catnip. Mizuki didn't say a word as he rushed into the classroom and slammed the door shut. The door shuddered and shook as something collided violently with the door. It did so again, and again. Cracks began to form in the thin wooden paneling. Mizuki looked down at the cracks and then up at Iruka, his eyes wide and traumatized. "Help me," he whimpered, before the door blew inward. And so it was, that the academy students got their first introduction to Tora, the demon cat of the Fire Lord's wife. After the two teams of genin had finally unlatched Tora from the heavily mauled Mizuki's face. (The first team had called for backup.) Mizuki was finally able to report for duty. Shuddering at his ordeal, he turned to look at his students to find Naruto once more sitting next to Hinata. He immediately opened his mouth to separate them. Naruto just quirked an eyebrow, seemingly saying without: "really, you really want to do that? All right, fine, if you want to play I won't stop you. Do it. I dare you." Mizuki just closed his mouth and allowed Iruka to continue with the lesson.

* * *

He and Sasuke were also a great deal closer than they had been at this time the last time around. This was mostly due to Naruto taking pity on the Uchiha and helping him escape from his hoards of fangirls. Naruto shuddered. Due to his reputation as the prankster king of Konoha, Naruto had regularly had to run from a number of fairly angry ANBU. Given the choice between angry ANBU and angry fangirls… Naruto would take the professional killers, thank you very much. The others were a lot scarier and a great deal more determined. Not to mention painful.

After every day at school, Naruto immediately took off with Hinata. They went to the training grounds and played together. Naruto always had a huge amount of fun, as did Hinata. Neither of them had really had any friends that they could just be themselves and play with. Their favorite game was tag, during which Naruto discreetly incorporated both tree walking and water walking. Hinata proved to be a natural at chakra control, not that this surprised him one whit. The play had multiple purposes. First of all, it was to make Hinata stronger. Originally, Naruto had just wanted to start training her, like a sensei would train a student. Arlia had put that plan to rest. Well, more like she put the plan six-feet-under and threatened to do the same to Naruto if he went on about helping Hinata in such a fashion. "She gets enough harsh training from her family. She doesn't need her time with you to remind her of that. Do that with her later. First of all, get her confidence up. Be her friend first, her trainer second." And so, Naruto had started with this 'training.' By continually spending time with her crush, being accepted by her crush, a person who she had the utmost respect for, Hinata's confidence was growing in leaps and bounds, her stutter greatly decreased. The tree and water walking further increased her chakra control. But one of the biggest surprises were the results to her chakra reserves. The Hyuuga family has never been known for large chakra reserves, mostly due to the fact that they hardly ever use techniques that require a large amount of chakra, aside from kaiten. But running after or away from the hyperactive Naruto every day, while tree walking and water walking, had in fact almost tripled her reserves in just a short two months. And Naruto was beyond surprised when he realized that she had started to instinctually send chakra to her muscles to speed up.

Things got even better when they started mixing it up by adding hide and seek to the game. Naruto got to practice using his heightened senses to find a target and Hinata got more practice at using her Byakugan. The scary thing was that she actually needed it to find Naruto. Turns out that if you're able to break into the Hokage's office, avoid detection, outrun and hide from ANBU, all while wearing pretty much day glow orange, then you actually know a thing or two about stealth. In fact, out of all of Naruto's abilities, his stealth was the only one that Shinigami deemed "acceptable." Despite this, he still forced Naruto to do several exercises in order to increase his ability. All he had to do now was convince Naruto that using said stealth was a better idea than charging the enemy in a frontal assault. _'He's supposed to be a ninja, for crying out loud!' _So, the playtime with Naruto had increased Hinata's confidence, chakra control, chakra reserves, strength, speed, ability with her Byakugan and her stealth. All of these were positives in Naruto's eyes. But the biggest positive in his eyes was also the simplest. It was also plain good fun!

* * *

But all good things have to come to an end and this time, the end to the happiness was very abrupt. One day Hinata came to school late. Naruto was already sitting down in his usual seat, feeling slightly worried for her. His face brightened when Hinata walked into the room and he gave her a wave, motioning with his free hand towards the seat next to him. Instead of smiling back at him and moving towards her seat, Hinata flinched visibly and hunched her head deeper into her jacket, before moving off to a seat away from Naruto. Naruto felt as if he had been hit in the stomach. What was that about? Had he done something wrong? Was she angry with him? Why didn't she sit next to him?

Naruto did not pay any attention whatsoever to the lessons that day, instead focusing all his attention on Hinata. Something had happened. Her posture, which in the last few weeks had finally began to straighten, had all fallen by the wayside. She was completely hunched over, trying to make herself as small as possible. Her arms, which she had just started to place on the desk or by her sides, were firmly closed in on her body, creating a wall from her and the rest of the world. Her eyes had started darting around constantly, searching for threats to her person, instead of having the steadier gaze that he had helped develop. Her legs were also tucked in closer to her body than they had been, making her a smaller target. Naruto felt his stomach clench. Something bad had happened. Something real bad.

Hinata had avoided Naruto for both recess and lunch, hiding in the girls' toilets. It was driving Naruto insane, which left him on a hairline temper when it came to sparring practice. He was faced against some no name that never made it past the genin exam. Normally, Naruto would just throw the fight, trip over himself or put a foot out of the ring. He wanted to be in team seven when he graduated, anything else and there goes pretty much all his knowledge of the future. Not to mention his only chance at saving Sasuke. Sighing, he prepared himself to do the same. And then the boy started talking. He had seen Hinata turn away from Naruto at the beginning of the day and had noticed that Naruto seemed even more distracted at class than usual. His parents had always pushed him to bully the blonde, to make his life miserable. To stay away from him and to hurt him when possible. Why? Because he deserved it, they said. So when Naruto went up close to him to start the match, he whispered words of poison to Naruto.

"Awww, is the little boy sad that his friend doesn't want to be with him anymore? No? You're not? Yeah, you probably knew that she was only pretending to be your friend anyway." Suddenly, he remembered a term that his parents used for the boy. "After all, why would someone like her want to be friends with the Demon Brat?" Naruto stiffened. The boy smiled, seeing that he had gotten to him. "You know, she's actually quite a pretty little thing. Maybe after I've beaten the crap out of you, I'll see if she wants to get closer to someone a little more human." Inside Naruto's mindscape, Shinigami winced. _"Ooh, bad move kid, you just made him take you seriously."_ Kyuubi just settled down on his haunches to enjoy the upcoming massacre, er, fight. Arlia just smiled. "Kick his ass, Sweety."

* * *

Mizuki smiled. He never really bothered to learn the student's names, but he knew something about Naruto's opponent. He was two years older than Naruto and had perhaps some thirty-five pounds on him. Big for his age, the boy would probably never be a ninja. In fact, Mizuki speculated that the only reason he stayed in the academy was because he liked beating up those that were smaller than him, which was the only thing that he was actually any good at. Mizuki liked him. And Iruka couldn't stop the match here, which meant that this would likely be a long, painful sparring match for Naruto.

"Last match of the day everyone. Are you two ready?" He received a nod from Naruto's opponent and didn't bother to check Naruto. "Hajime!"

Naruto had been shaking in rage at the words spoken to him. Adrenaline was starting to run through his veins and an increase of chakra ran to his brain. He began to see red. And then, he heard Arlia's words: "Kick his ass, Sweety." Naruto grinned the grin of a fox on the hunt. He intended to. Barely realizing Mizuki beginning the match, Naruto caught knife hand headed towards his throat. With a flick of his wrist, he broke two fingers and dislocated a third. At the same time, he stepped forward and in a single, brutal motion, stomp kicked square into his opponent's right knee. Ducking under the wild haymaker sent his way; Naruto placed both hands on his opponent's chest and shoved him back. In causing the boy to take a step back, all his weight was put on his injured right knee. He cried out as his unsteady leg crumbled beneath him. Naruto was in the thick of the battle now, acting on nothing but pure instinct and training, with no thought to the future, all thought on the now. A foot drove into his opponent's stomach, bringing his hands out of the way. While his opponent was unable to block, Naruto clapped both hands on his ears, rupturing his eardrums. A final roundhouse kick sent him flying out of the ring.

Naruto turned to Mizuki and Iruka, waiting for them to call the match. "Winner, Naruto Uzumaki!" Iruka said, slightly stunned. He had never seen that style before. Heck, it wasn't even what one could call a style! Naruto had just reacted to each opening given to him with the same brawling method that he always had! I mean, who pushes their opponent in a taijutsu battle? It serves no purpose whatsoever! But combine that with a crushed kneecap and Naruto was able to create an opening that allowed him to decisively finish the match. Iruka had never seen that Naruto use his brawling style so effectively before.

Mizuki, meanwhile, was seething. "NARUTO! Don't you think that you were a little bit violent?" Naruto just looked at Mizuki questioningly. Then, he shrugged.

"Not really. It's a taijutsu match, so anything goes. Besides," here he indicated with a jerk of his head the boy crawling and bawling, on the floor. "He's better than me in most of the academy taijutsu kata's. If I wanted to win, I had to do as much damage as I could while he was still surprised. I didn't really feel like getting hurt today and if I remember right, the thug has almost broken someone's spine before." Iruka frowned. He had read about that incident. Apparently, before the match had been called, the boy had jumped on the person's back, dong a great deal of damage. "Plus," Naruto continued, raising one finger. "The bastard pissed me off." As Naruto finished, the bell rang and the students ran towards the gate, leaving the teachers wondering about just what was Naruto capable of.

* * *

Hinata moved on towards Kurenai's house quickly. She needed to speak with her mother figure. The girl was feeling heartbroken that she had not been allowed to sit next to Naruto this day. And now he would hate her and not want to be her friend any more. Not that she was allowed to be in any case. No! They could not do that to her! They would not take away her Naruto-kun. She would be his friend again. But not right now. She couldn't do it right now. Tears started to seep from her eyes as she walked past an alleyway. She squeaked as a hand reached out from the dark and pulled her in, out of sight of all those around them. She immediately opened her mouth to scream for help, only for a hand to be clapped over it. "Hinata-chan! Shhh! It's me!" Naruto whispered fiercely to her. Eyes widening, she began to struggle. "Woah! Wait! Hinata-chan stop it! Please!" Tears fell from Hinata's eyes as her struggling grew weaker and weaker and slowly ground to a halt.

"G-g-g-g-go-m-m-men, N-n-n-nar-u-t-t-t-to-k-kun," Hinata stammered out. Naruto frowned. He had thought that he had mostly gotten her out of that habit. Sure, he found it cute at times, but this was much more than she had ever used to do. His frown got larger at her next words. "P-p-p-p-p-lease l-l-let me g-g-go." Naruto did so, only to immediately latch hold of her again. However, he let go immediately at the loud cry of pain that tore form Hinata's lips at his hold. Hinata had stopped running, falling to her knees and grabbing her arm in pain. Slowly, mechanically, Naruto sat next to her and unzipped her jacket, ignoring her small cries of protest. The jacket was heavily padded and long sleeved. Naruto had always thought, after seeing her once without the jacket on, that Hinata wore it to hide her early developing assets. Now, he wondered if she didn't wear it to hide something else. Those long sleeves were the only thing that prevented the many serious black, purple and blue bruises covering her arms from being seen. The padding soaked up the small amount of blood that seeped from the more serious bruises. And from the way that she was carrying herself, those bruises extended underneath her shirt as well.

"Hinata. What happened to you?"

"I-i-i-it's n-n-n-not so b-b-b-bad," Hinata lied. She picked up her discarded jacket and rummaged around in one of its pockets, pulling out a jar of cream that Naruto recognized well. "M-m-m-my c-c-c-c-cream h-h-h-helps." Naruto winced at this. It looked like the same type of cream that she had given him in the Chuunin exams. He had thought when he had tried it that she was really smart to make something that worked so well. And here was the reason for its effectiveness: practice. Naruto immediately seized the jar and began rubbing it on her skin. But the bruises stayed there stubbornly. It was obvious from the look of relief on Hinata's face that the cream helped, but it wasn't enough. She was still hurting.

"_Hey kid."_ Shinigami said quietly. "WHAT!" Naruto snarled, the anger at his friends treatment seeping into his voice. Shinigami ignored it, understanding. _"I was going to tell you this when you had another wind technique under your belt, but it'll be of more use to you now. Remember how I told you that your healing factor was pretty much supercharged?"  
_

"Yes," Naruto said, continuing his work on Hinata.

"_The thing about the Uzumaki healing factor is the more it works, the better it gets. Right now, thanks to your less than pleasant life and the effect of the Kyuubi, which also acts to give you faster healing, while at the same time poisoning you, you've achieved an ability that no Uzumaki has ever been able to do. The ability to pass on your healing factor. By the looks of things, this ability has been ingrained into your very DNA, meaning that you are the start of a brand new Kekkei Genkai."_

Naruto froze, entering his mindscape. "What?" Shinigami frowned.

"_Well, not really, bad choice of words. Look. The bottom line is, that if you give them a piece of yourself, imbued with your own chakra, that 'piece' burns up and in doing so acts to heal the person that ingest it, or who it is applied to."_

Naruto frowned. "That doesn't sound very useful. So, if I cut off a finger and got Hinata to eat it, then she'll heal up as good as new?" he asked sarcastically.

"_Well, yes, she would actually. Although, I would have thought that using your blood would be a far better and much more effective treatment." _

Naruto froze, then exited his mindscape. "Hinata. Would you like to come home with me? I can help you some more with those bruises. Don't worry, no one will see us." Hinata waged a small internal war with herself before nodding, not trusting herself to speak. Sighing at her incredibly timid actions, Naruto finished rubbing cream on her arms and pressed a hand on her forehead after doing four hand signs.

"_Henge."_ Stopping for a while, Naruto took note at his handiwork. He had gotten much better at the henge, but still found it difficult to change another person's appearance. Here, he had given Hinata blonde hair and violet eyes. Naruto froze, blinked, then sweat dropped a little at how much Hinata now looked like Shion. After passing Hinata her jacket, Naruto picked Hinata up bridal style, once again ignoring her squeak of protest and traveled to his apartment.

* * *

It didn't take Naruto very long at all to get to his apartment. Ignoring the graffiti on the walls, he opened the door and led Hinata inside. Closing it behind him, he moved to the kettle, putting it on for a cup of tea. Hinata was sitting on the very edge of his bed, poised for flight, the henge dispelled by Naruto. Taking up her jar of cream once more, Naruto spoke. "Now don't freak out, okay? This'll help. Just trust me, alright?" Hinata nodded immediately, no matter what happened, she would always trust Naruto. Despite this admission, her eyes still widened as she watched him bite deeply into his thumb with his elongated canine, before squeezing the blood into her jar of cream. Mixing it together with his finger, Naruto moved to put the now pink substance on Hinata's injured limbs. Hinata shied away. "Trust me," Naruto whispered. Nodding her head slowly, Hinata moved close to him once again, her muscles still tense.

As Naruto placed the cream on her, a glorious feeling rose up almost immediately from that spot as she felt her muscles relax. What Hinata was experiencing is common to many people who are put on anesthetic after a long time being injured. You push yourself to ignore the pain, to work through it, until that pain is seemingly nothing more than a memory, until something happens to bring it to the forefront of your mind once more. Despite limiting the immobilizing affects of the pain, it is still there with you. And when those painkillers finally kick in, there is that glorious feeling of _not_ pain that can sometimes overwhelm you. Just that simple feeling of not being in pain anymore can have a profound effect on a person. Hinata was feeling this _not_ pain and yet it was somehow even better. She could feel her muscles and injuries slowly disappearing, healing. Opening her eyes, she gasped at the smooth, unblemished skin where there used to be a dark, bloody bruise. Closing her eyes, she allowed herself to sink into the comfort and security of healing as Naruto continued to stroke away her hurts.

Soon enough, the injuries on her arms were healed and Naruto pulled her shirt over her head as she lay on her stomach and started on the ones on her back. These ones were just as bad, but what was worse in his eyes was the way that they had been done with almost surgical precision, avoiding areas that would necessitate a trip to the hospital, focusing only on areas that would hurt and cause pain, not permanent damage. However, as Hinata slowly started to stretch out and her skin became once more unblemished and soft beneath his fingers, Naruto realized his position. Sitting next to a young girl, who was at this time wearing nothing other than shorts and a training bra, while he was busy rubbing her back… Blood started trickling from his nose as his face started to heat up. He heard a pair of voices sniggering inside his head. '_No!' _he thought. _'I am not a pervert like my sensei! Must resist the lolicon!' _Stemming the flow of blood from his nose, Naruto handed the cream, as well as her jacket, to Hinata. "Here, you do the rest.," he muttered embarrassedly. Slowly coming out of her slightly comatose state, Hinata blushed a glowing red. Coming to the conclusion that if she were to pass out on the bed _now_ she would be in an even more embarrassing situation, she quickly put on the jacket. "Bathroom's over there," Naruto said, pointing in its direction. Hinata quickly sought its sanctuary.

Naruto waited for a couple of minutes, cleaning up some of the mess that was in his room, before he got impatient. Opening the door, he murmured "Hinata?" The sight of his friend huddled on the ground, obviously trying to hold back tears, nearly moved him to tears himself. Slowly, he walked over to her and dropped to the ground, giving her a hug. "Let it out," he said softly. "Don't bottle it all in. Let it out." Hinata held strong for a slow count of five, stiff in his arms, before throwing herself at Naruto, sobbing her heart out. Naruto simply held her as her tears soaked into his clothes, stroking her hair gently, murmuring soft words of comfort to the weeping girl. In between sobs, she told Naruto what had happened. Naruto's heart clenched as his anger started to send flickers of demon chakra throughout his system.

* * *

Kurenai was worried. Very worried. She knew that Hinata was spending a lot of time with her new friend, Naruto, to the degree that several hours would pass before Hinata was escorted by her friend to Kurenai's place before the Genjutsu Mistress took the then smiling girl home. But today, a branch house member had come early to pick Hinata up from and take her home. When Kurenai had told him that Hinata was not here, he had seemed to completely deflate, losing the Hyuuga stoicism that they so prided themselves on, for just a moment. "I see," he had said. "That is… most unfortunate." After which he just turned around and left. Her worry had continued to grow when the hand of the clock passed the time when Hinata and Naruto usually walked into the door. It died down a bit when she heard the door open, but went right back up when Anko walked in. Seeing her distress, Anko did all she could to 'comfort' her friend by listing all the things that probably hadn't happened. Needless to say, it wasn't helping. So by the time Naruto knocked on her door, she was ready to put him in the most traumatizing genjutsu that she knew. Flinging the door open, she started to shout: "WHERE HAVE Y-" and stopped as she saw Hinata passed out in Naruto's arms. "This seems to be a recurring theme doesn't it?" Kurenai asked, her voice quieter so as not to wake Hinata up.

"She didn't faint," Naruto said, his teeth gritted in anger. "She passed out from exhaustion." Kurenai raised an eyebrow at the tone of Naruto's and stood aside motioning for him to enter. Naruto did so, moving past Anko to place Hinata on Kurenai's bed. Turning around, he jumped slightly as Anko got right in his face. "Passed out from exhaustion, eh? According to some of my ANBU friends, you're something of a stamina freak." Anko sighed, looking at Hinata jealously. "Some girls get all the luck."

Naruto deadpanned. "I'm eleven years old you cradle robbing sicko. I'm a little bit too young for that sort of thing."

"Anko! Leave him be! Now, Naruto, why don't you tell me what's going on. Oh and by the way, this is…"

Naruto interrupted her. "Anko Mitarashi, Tokubetsu Jonin of Konoha. Age: Nineteen. Weight:," Naruto paused at the look on her face. "Let's not go there right now. Height, 167cm. Blood Type A. Date of Birth: October 24. Konoha's one and only Snake Mistress, due to her association with her previous sensei, Orochimaru the Snake Sannin. Shunned by most of the village due to her past with said Sannin, who she despises above all others. Has a rather fanatical love of dango." Kurenai and Anko, just gawked at him. Smirking at their expressions, Naruto, feeling like showing off, continued. "Also the first and only survivor of the first batch of Orochimaru's cursed seal of heaven." Killing intent suddenly flooded the room, its focus all on Naruto. Naruto quirked an eyebrow at Anko, the origin of the killing intent. He had felt far worse.

_Flashback_

"_Alright, Naruto. Today we are going to start learning about killing intent. Your teacher for this lesson will be the great Kyuubi no Yoko. I have adjusted his seal so as to allow one fiftieth of his killing intent to reach you."_

"**WHY SHOULD I HELP YOU?" **

Shinigami smiled at him. _"If Naruto dies as a direct result of this training, I'll set you free from this seal."_

Naruto gasped and fell to his knees as the Kyuubi's thirst for blood, his blood hit in the form of Killing Intent. And what a Killing Intent. Zabuza, Orochimaru, Pein, Sasuke, their killing intent was nothing compared to Kyuubi's.

_Flashback end_

"How do you know about that, boy?" Anko said dangerously, fingering a kunai longingly, hardly even aware of the killing intent she was unconsciously sending Naruto's way.

Naruto smirked at her. "You'd be surprised at what you can learn if you read the right papers," he said, ratcheting up his own killing intent to match hers, KI for KI.

_Flashback_

"_The best way to overcome killing intent is to use your own killing intent to push it away," _Shinigami explained patiently.

Naruto was on his knees, head pointed towards the floor, hands pressed against his painfully beating heart.

"_You do know that the first thing that Kyuubi will do once being freed is to go after your friends right?"_

Naruto looked up, his eyes burning with determination, burning with the Will of Fire. Naruto's own killing intent began to rise.

_Flashback end_

Anko blinked as the child in front of her matched her killing intent. She increased it. So did he. She increased it again, once more, so did he. Suddenly, she threw her kunai at Naruto, which sliced him across the cheek. Walking quickly towards it, she pulled it out of the wall and licked the blood off of it. "Damn, kid! Your blood is _goooooooood!_"

Naruto grinned foxily at her. "I know!" he said, remembering his bloods new healing properties. Naruto then frowned thoughtfully at her. "You know, if you really want to distance yourself from Orochimaru, you should really quit with the pedophiliac tendencies." Kurenai dived in front of Naruto, tackling the charging Anko before she did something that she would probably – no she wouldn't regret it at all.

"Come on Kurenai-chan! Let me kill him! Just a little bit!"

"The mindless killing frenzies probably don't help either," Naruto said, raising his voice over the noise. At this, Anko froze, then she began to laugh. She laughed and laughed, seemingly uncontrollably, before the laughter stopped, as abruptly as if a switch had been thrown.

"Kid! You've got more balls than brains. I like that. I really do. You and I are going to get along just fine."

"Again with pedophiliac tendencies," Naruto muttered, face palming. Anko seemingly warped right in front of him, her kunai underneath his chin.

"But don't push your luck," she said, pulling her kunai away from him.

Naruto gulped and nodded slowly.

"Now Naruto, I think that it would be best for you to explain how you know all that about Anko to us," Kurenai said, sitting down on a couch.

Naruto waved his hands, dismissing it. "I didn't come here for that. Look, something happened to Hinata-chan." And so Naruto sat down with the two kunoichi and told them the entire story. How Hinata had been avoiding him all day. Their confrontation in the alley. Hinata's injuries, how he had helped her heal them. He left out the part about his blood being the healing agent, somehow that didn't seem like a smart idea. He also left out the situation when he had been rubbing Hinata's naked back. With Kurenai there, that was definitely a bad idea. Then, he told about Hinata crying her eyes out in the bathroom and her tearful confession to him. She had just sat there and cried for nearly two hours. And then he had brought her here.

Silence remained in the air as Naruto finished his story. "I'll kill them," Kurenai said furiously through gritted teeth. Naruto shook his head.

"Thought about that already. Hinata would never forgive you. Or me," he finished darkly. Naruto sighed. "If you don't mind Kurenai, I think it would be best if Hinata stayed at your place tonight Kurenai-san." Kurenai nodded emphatically and immediately moved off to check on Hinata. Naruto got up, getting ready to leave, only to be halted as Anko grabbed his arm.

"I've seen that look before kid. Usually it was the last look I saw on a teammates face," sadness tinged her voice. Then she stared directly in his eyes, her gaze hard. "Don't do anything stupid."

Naruto just looked at her. "Anko-san, a wise, if perverted old man once told me: a stupid idea is only stupid if it doesn't work. If it does, then it's bloody brilliant."

Anko snorted, letting go of his arm. "Can't really argue with that. Sounds like he knew his stuff."

Naruto smiled, thinking of Jiraiya. "He did. _No_ he _does._"

"So," Anko said. "Don't do anything stupid."

Naruto smiled grimly. "Anko-san, Hinata is my friend. Friends help each other. And I made a promise to her. I promised that I would fix this. Come tomorrow, the entire Hyuuga clan will ask for her forgiveness on bended knee."

Anko snorted. "Now there's something that I'd like to see. Bet you can't do it."

"Bet you a favor I can."

Anko raised her eyebrows. That seemed a rather disproportionate bet, but somehow, she felt that the boy in front of her was good for it. "Done," she said, shaking hands with Naruto. As she watched him walk out of the door, she wondered whether or not she should feel some sort of responsibility for the boy. Then she shrugged. A kid that could do all he could and then match _her _killing intent didn't need her help. Truth be told, she felt sorry for the Hyuuga clan.

Naruto stood outside the door, breathing deeply, calming his anger, focusing it, diverting it to the cause of formulating a plan. Taking a deep breath in, he started the walk back to his apartment. He had some preparations to make.

Nobody hurt his precious people. Nobody.

* * *

Authors Note

Cliff-hanger no Jutsu!

Whoo! Broken the 40,000 word mark! Sigh, I was planning on doing these two chapters together, but somehow it just didn't work out that way, far too long. Sorry. Oh well, you know the drill, more reviews mean a faster update. Next chapter should be sweeeeet. Hopefully. Maybe. Possibly.

Anyway, I've had a couple of people ask me about Hinata coming into contact with Arlia. Truth be told I had never really thought about doing it, but it brings up so many possibilities (drool). So, there's a poll in my profile about whether or not Hinata should come into contact with Arlia. This poll will end much sooner than the one on Shinigami's name.

Hope you liked the chapter. Send some ideas in your reviews if you want. I'm not going to guarantee that I will use all of them, but sometimes they do help.

Oh well. Read, review, have fun, review again!

P.S. The 'healing blood,' is originally the idea of Hektols, author of New Chance. If you haven't already read it, read it review it. You won't be disappointed.


	9. Hyuuga Hijinks

Authors notes.

Now, I was told by a friend that he smart thing to do would be to wait a week or so before updating, to squeeze as many reviews as possible out of my readers. I updated two days later, so stuff you! People seemed to be looking forward to this chapter, so I tried to bring it as soon as possible. I hope that I didn't disappoint. Naruto may seem a little dark in this chapter. Let me just say that he is _really_ pissed. Not the red hot anger of Kyuubi, but rather the cold, calculated anger that only a human can really pull off. Pretty much no humor in this one. It would have been out of character. I will be bringing it back soon, however. Just child abuse is something that I _really_ don't stand for.

Anyways, on with the chapter, nearly at two hundred reviews!

* * *

Chapter Nine

Hyuuga Hijnks

Naruto slowly got dressed, still burning with anger at what the Hyuuga family had done to Hinata. But what really riled him up where two things in particular, one: that they apparently did this on a regular basis. Two: that this time, he felt that he was partly to blame for the beating. He should have known that the Hyuuga would not just simply accept him. He let out a growl as he raised the black hood of the outfit he had brought just over two months ago. It covered his head, obscuring his features. Suddenly, glowing red eyes glinted in the darkness.

"_So, kid. What's the plan?"_

Naruto curled his lip in a half smile, bringing one of his elongated canines into prominence. "We go to the house on the Hokage heads and pick up a few things. Then, it's open season on the Hyuuga's ass'." Arlia, who had joined them once more just half an hour ago, grinned wolfishly. "I like your thinking boy. Let's go."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Naruto was at the door of his parent's house once more. He walked purposefully towards the building, cutting his hand with a kunai and then flinging it forward without even slowing down. His blood arced in the space between him and the door, before a couple of drops of the red liquid splashed on the wooden surface. The seal came into view once more, this time not slowly changing to yellow, but immediately flashing an orange in color, signaling the seal's disarmament. Naruto had come here regularly since he had travelled back in time and each time his blood activated the seal, it took a shorter amount of time for it to power down. The bright flash had also slowly changed color, signifying, Shinigami said, that it was starting to learn who its new master was. Not that the seal itself was sentient, just that it was able to 'learn' in some weird way that frankly, Naruto did not understand. But as more of his blood was given to the seal, the color slowly changed to an orange shade. Apparently, soon enough Naruto would be able to enter the building without even having to go through any of the security measures.

Immediately after he opened the door, Naruto moved towards his parent's bedroom. There had been a couple of nights when he had slept in their bed instead of going to his apartment. It made him feel closer to them, something that he sometimes felt was needed. It was strange feeling. It made him sad, while at the same time, it made him happy. It was confusing as hell, but that was not why he had come here tonight. Stalking to his fathers side of the bed, he yanked open the last drawer, to reveal… a book. It was a big, bulky thing, with well over a thousand pages. The writing on each of the normal pages was slightly cramped and busy, it was in his father's handwriting. But it was what was on the pages abnormal that was really interesting to Naruto. The book had been made with every second page divided into six separate pieces, by a series of small dot perforations for easy separation. And on every single separate piece of paper, was a fuiin seal, which could only be activated by someone of the Namikaze bloodline. _His_ bloodline.

However, this would have meant absolutely nothing to him as Naruto could not understand pretty much any of what his father's technical jargon, advanced calculations and sometimes slightly rabid (in his opinion) ranting actually meant. To put it simply, if Naruto had had to rely on his father's instructions, he would never be able to safely use the seals for fear of blowing himself up because he could not understand what the damn thing actually _did!_ Luckily for him, his mom had helped out. On each page, was a simple explanation of what the seal actually did, written with red ink, in a broad and flowing script. The descriptions of the different seals functions went something along the lines of this. Paralyzing seal, does exactly what it says. (Good for use on Jiraiya when we go to the bedroom.) Naruto had paused at this, made a note to test another of Arlia's special Jutsu on Jiraiya next time they met and continued reading. Chakra Flash: Blinds those who can see chakra. (In case a Hyuuga is looking at what doesn't belong to them.) Naruto blushed, absentmindedly wondering about the reasons as to _why_ Hinata was always fainting, although, admittedly, she had got better. Sleeping seal, good for dreamless sleep. Instant unconsciousness on activation. (For when Minato has nightmares about that battle against Iwa.) Naruto frowned. The Fourth was lauded as a hero for that battle, why would he have nightmares about it?

"**HUMANS ARE SOFT CREATURES, KILLING ANOTHER LEAVES SCARS ON THE HEART OF A DECENT HUMAN BEING. YOUR FATHER MAY HAVE BEEN A PRICK FOR SEALING ME IN YOU, BUT HE WAS A DECENT HUMAN BEING. KILLING SO MANY IN ONE BATTLE WOULD HAVE HAUNTED HIM FOR A LONG TIME, EVEN IF IT WAS NECESSARY."**

Naruto sighed, knowing that Kyuubi was right. He paged through the sections of the book, reading just his mothers description. Paralyses its victims, sends them to sleep, prevents them from sleeping, causes pain, seals away pain, shocks its victims, freezes its victims, burns its victims, cuts its victims, turns its victims inside out, wait, what? A couple of minutes later, Naruto closed the book with a thud and a shudder. He could have stayed here all night reading this book, but he had work to do.

Naruto turned and left the room, passing through the doorway, before immediately re-entering the room. Walking over to his mother's side of the bed, he did not bother looking in her bottom drawer, it was locked and despite being a ninja, he had never been taught how to pick a lock. The academy teachers had neglected to go through that lesson with him. Instead, he took hi mother's katana from its stand and strapped it to his back. He had not done any specialized training in kenjutsu, apart from learning some of the basic forms with Jiraiya during his training trip. After facing Zabuza and having Kisame after his ass, both of them high level kenjutsu masters, Jiraiya had thought it wise for him to have at least a basic understanding of swordsmanship. Although he had never actually used a sword in battle himself, if the training only meant that he would know when it was the right time to duck, he thought it well worth the time. Why did he take it? To be honest it was a pretty spur of the moment kind of thing. But his reasoning was sound, at least to his twisted logic. His… chat with the Hyuuga clan was something that he would have to burn into their memory. Kunai and shuriken were good ninja tools, but they were also extremely common. But if he showed up in the middle of the Hyuuga compound wielding a high quality piece of steel like the one in his hands right now, he could guarantee that they wouldn't be forgetting about him in a hurry. Naruto left the room with a wolfish smile on his face. He had a little bit more equipment to collect, but after that, the hunt was on.

* * *

Now, when most people look at Naruto, all that they see is a hyperactive, grinning, idiot of a prankster. They'd be right. But he was so much more than just that. Sure he was hyperactive, but that just added to his already amazing stamina, which could get him through almost any situation. His grin was usually a mask to hide what he was really thinking. And he did this incredibly effectively, being able to even deceive the residents of a village of ninja, apart from Hinata, but she was a special case. And shinobi, after all, often say that deception is the life's blood of a ninja. And yes, he could be an idiot. In fact, at times he was an idiot; that was not just a part of his mask. But because he was an idiot, people constantly underestimated him. And he was not just a prankster. He was a prankster King. Pranking was quite possibly one of the only things that Naruto ever really took the time to think about. That and fighting. After all, it took a very special type of planning to be able to finish painting the faces of each of the Hokage heads without getting caught. This same type of planning was used in almost every one of his pranks.

Surprisingly enough though, this pranking was always put to the side as some, reasonably, harmless fun. Because most of the pranks were just silly little things, no one actually took the time to stop, take a step back and look at just exactly what Naruto had to do to be able to successfully pull of a prank. Take the time he had put that bright pink dye in the shampoo of the Inuzuka hounds the day before their monthly bath date. Since a similar thing had happened before, Hana Inuzuka kept the shampoo in her room for all the good that it had done her in the end. This mere obstacle had done nothing to stop Naruto. First, he had got into the compound through an open window. Than, it was a relatively simple matter for him to avoid the members of the Inuzuka household on his way to Hana's room, all of which, it should be added, had heightened senses. Avoiding their canine partners was a mite bit more difficult, but by masking his scent with some discarded Inuzuka clothes it had been doable. After that, he had crept into the sleeping heiress' room and doctored the shampoo, leaving with no one the wiser. So, in effect, he had made a successful penetration into a clan compound, avoiding all of the 'guards' and got into the room, within touching distance of one of Konoha's clan heirs. It was kind of sad really, that in a village of ninja no one really understood that Naruto was already able to perform all the things necessary to be an accomplished assassin.

* * *

Naruto lay within easy sight of the Hyuuga clan complex. Waiting. Watching. Success here was dependent on information. In this case, information on the changes of the guard. The Hyuuga clan was the only clan in Konoha that actually had members of the clan perform actual guard duty. It was tradition, after all. And the Hyuuga clan had always been one for tradition. Naruto supposed it might be because they were the only clan in Konoha that had actually been granted noble status by the Fire Daimyo. Whatever, that wasn't really all that important. The important thing right now was that the guards worked in two-hour shifts, from what he could tell. Naruto was not aware of the patrols of all the guards inside the complex, he'd just have to find them before they found him.

Despite this slight complication, Naruto could not help but to smile at the way they were going through their guarding duties. To them it was just a routine. A formality. It made sense he supposed. The Hyuuga clan was the largest, wealthiest and arguably the most powerful clan in Konoha. Naruto snorted. 'With their "all seeing eyes" and their "unbeatable" taijutsu style, they have grown overconfident,' he thought 'arrogant.' And he was right. Although to his way of thinking, most of them, meaning pretty much all of them aside from Hinata, just had a stick up their ass. But their haughty nature was also proof of a fatal flaw that could be easily taken advantage of. Overconfidence. After all, there were only really two reasons as to why they had guards patrolling the area. First, because it was tradition, second, because by doing so they showed the other, less numerous clans their higher position, in that they had the numbers to be able to have guards patrol the grounds every night. But these guards their guards didn't even act to use their Byakugan at regular intervals, instead only using it when they heard a noise or heard something that was suspicious. Extremely lazy of them to do so, although it does explain why the Kumo representative was able to get so close to kidnapping Hinata in the first place. Naruto froze at that thought. Either that, or the Kumo shinobi had had inside help. Naruto shook his head, clearing his mind of those kinds of thoughts. They were for another day. He needed to focus on the now. The point was, that the mindset of the entire Hyuuga clan had grown increasingly complacent. After all, who would be fool enough to challenge the might of the Hyuuga clan? One young, blond and pissed of Jinchuriki would have raised his hand in answer to that question. As he had once said, in the future, a long time ago, if not being a fool means abandoning your friends, then he would remain a fool for the rest of his life. In short, the Hyuuga clan were making this operation far to easy for Naruto. Of course, it wasn't as if the final result would have been any different if the guards had been more vigilant. However, it may have made it a little bit more… entertaining.

"_Are you sure that you want to go through?" _Shinigami asked Naruto. Naruto just growled. Shinigami continued. _"Remember boy, once you do this, you can't go back. It cannot be undone. Are you sure that this is what you want?"_

Naruto spoke out loud, his voice soft, icy… deadly. "They hurt her Shinigami-sama. They hurt Hinata-chan. She's been working so hard and she's been getting stronger all the time. But they don't even care. Not one whit. And do you why they hurt her?" Shinigami just remained silent. Naruto nodded. "Yes, you know, don't you? You were there after all. And now, they want to take her from." By now, Naruto's voice had dropped to a whisper and yet, it somehow made him sound all the more dangerous. "I won't allow it. She was taken away from me once. Never again. _Never_ again. She is one of my most precious people and no one will take her from me again, not even her family. I won't let it happen ever again!" So saying, he leapt out in to the darkness. It was time. He had waited patiently, until it was late at night and then more than halfway through the current guards shift, to a time when they would be tired, lazy. It was time, time to begin.

* * *

Guard number one and guard two were at the front gate. To be frank, Naruto did not know the names of many of the Hyuuga clan. He didn't really spend enough time around the compound to learn the names of any of them in the first place. That would have to change. Although, it may just have been for the best. Naruto was not sure if he would have been able to complete what he had set out to do if he was putting a name to every face. Instead, he would just give each guard a number. Numbers were a lot more impersonal. Boldly, he trotted directly towards them, in full view of both guards.

Guard number one lifted an eyebrow in one miniscule movement. Even when there was no one to see, the proper Hyuuga decorum must be upheld. But still, he was surprised to see a fox walk right up to just beyond reach of him and his partner, only to sit down. It was remarkably tame, which was odd in Konoha. Foxes… were not really very popular in the Village hidden in the leaves. For obvious reasons. Neither of them however, made any move to kill the fox, although his partner had started fingering a shuriken. Yawning at them, the fox deliberately stood up, turned around so he was facing directly away from them and lifted his tail. A slightly angry expression on his face, guard number two flung his shuriken at the fox, hitting it dead center. The fox who had been giving them the brown eye disappeared in a puff of smoke. Blinking in surprise, guard number one took a couple of steps forward, before turning around to his partner. Immediately, he got into the gentle fist stance. His partner was slumped against the wall, unconscious, a slight amount of blood trickling from a large lump on the back of his head. And a fox stood just in front of him, its hackles raised as he growled at the Hyuuga guard. "You are in range of my divination," the Hyuuga whispered, bloodline activated. The fox simply cocked his head at an angle at the Hyuuga, before swiping a paw in front of him. The Hyuuga stood, shocked as a wave of chakra exploded in front of that swipe, originating from an animal which, as far as he could tell, had no chakra system. His shock prevented him from dodging and the chakra wave hit him in the face. The world went black and he knew no more.

There was a small cloud of smoke, yet no noise, when Naruto undid his henge. Only to reveal that it was what he had dubbed, a layered henge. His sixteen-year-old self stood in front of the doorway, dressed in a black outfit almost identical to the one he had bought. Although he was doing more physical training than he had last done at this time, he needed the strength of an older person for this job. And if he was forced to dispel a henge prematurely and people saw who he really was, there would be trouble. The layered henge took care of that. It basically meant that he transformed into something, then transformed again, meaning that when he dispelled the last transformation, it would reveal the transformation 'under' that one. But it took at least twice as much chakra to do the second 'layer' and twice that of the second layer to do a third layer. In other words, it was not completely practical.

Looking at the two unconscious Hyuuga, Naruto allowed himself a small grin. He was really starting to love his henge. The fox form was still the easiest and he was able to change certain things in the original animal. For instance, increasing the length of the tail to just over three feet, enough to wrap it around guard number two's throat and then increasing the strength of said tail to enable it to pull the guards head back, slamming it against the wall that he had been leaning on before he threw the shuriken. Naruto had already known that he could perform the kazeken in fox form. Although it was probably a stupid idea to screw around with a jutsu in the middle of the field… All he had done was pump a bit more chakra into the technique and fiddle around with the shape manipulation. Instead of making the chakra thin and sharp, he had made it fat and blunt. The final result however, was more than satisfactory. It had knocked the Hyuuga out like a light. Walking over to him, he lifted the bandages from the Hyuuga's forehead and inspected the red welt that had been left by his jutsu, ignoring the curse seal. It looked almost as if he had been hit in the head with a staff. Naruto smiled. Kazebo. He had a name for his new technique. Looking down at the two Hyuuga, Naruto made a pair of shadow clones, who used henge to transform into guards one and two. Shinigami spoke once more. _"This is the point of no return kid. Cross this line and there's no going back."_ Naruto nodded as he drew a special kunai from a sheath that he had prepared for this night alone.

"I know," he said, leaning down and drawing a red smile lines on each of the Hyuuga's throats. After doing so, he grabbed the unmoving bodies by the back of their robes and dragged them into the compound. He stashed the unresponsive Hyuuga in a side room that had a key left in the lock, turning the key and leaving them there. He had sighed in relief as he spotted the key. This would be so much easier if he knew how to pick a lock. Now, the bodies would not be tripped over as he continued with his work. Pocketing the key, he moved on.

* * *

Guard number three was outside in the garden, standing just below the edge of a roof. Naruto blinked. He never thought that one of the Hyuuga would be taking a cigarette break. He shrugged. Oh well. Leaping up, he grabbed the rim of he roof and pulled himself up in one swift move. Immediately, he stopped, cursing. He remembered this roof. The roof was made with two different types of tiles. One of them was an ordinary type. The others were of a rather more fragile, yet more expensive type. Completely weather proof, they had on very special feature. Put any real weight on them and they'll snap with a loud crack. Loud enough to alert the guards, loud enough to wake up some of those sleeping below. And they were completely identical to the other tiles. It was nothing but pure luck that Naruto had avoided them when he first got onto the roof. Naruto smirked. This would stop most people. There was a small puff of smoke. Luckily for him, foxes are _very_ light on their feet. It was but the work of the moment to cross the roof. Several times, he could feel a slight shifting that indicated that he had stepped on one of the trick tiles. But none of them cracked. Once he reached the end of the roof, Naruto leapt into the air, undoing the henge as he did so. His mother's katana was drawn from its scabbard. The slight rasp of metal caused the smoker to turn. He saw a black figure with the moon behind him, a blade raised in the air. The blade came down. The Hyuuga collapsed.

* * *

Guard number seven fell to a simple barrier seal. Naruto had watched his patrol. He was more vigilant than most of the others. Despite that, in the dark he failed to notice the two pieces of paper, one on each side of the corridor. When he walked between them, electricity ran through his body. The trio of silencing trio of silencing seals prevented any shouts he might have made from being heard. Naruto walked towards him, letting himself be seen as he drew the kunai from its sheath, for the sixth time.

Guard number thirteen had also been more vigilant than any other that Naruto had seen that night, opening and closing each and every door as he went past. That was his downfall. As he opened one last door, a bucket overhead tipped over, splashing him with an unknown substance. Whatever it was, it was effective. Guard number thirteen never even had time to draw in breath for a shout before he crumpled to the floor. Naruto walked out from behind a corner, kunai in hand. He was impressed. He had found the formula for this mixture in a book left by his mom, detailing a number of pranks, as well as a deal of herb lore. He had wondered if he had got the herb dosages correct. This was a simple, yet potent contact poison, a couple of drops would knock you out after a couple of minutes. But with the amount that he had used, unconsciousness was immediate. After bending down and swiping his special kunai across guard number thirteen's throat, Naruto used henge and transformed the guard into a fox. No matter what he did, foxes were always easier for him. And after lugging the first ten Hyuuga to that side room, he figured that it would be easier to just carry a fox's body there instead. He undid the henge when he got to the room. Naruto looked around the room without compassion. It was starting to get crowded in here.

Guard number sixteen was yanked off his feet when a rope suddenly tightened across his neck as he walked out from underneath a roof. Guard number twenty never even saw the butt of the sword that knocked into the side of his head. Guard number twenty-three never looked up and so he never saw the figure lying flush against the ceiling, sticking to it with chakra, blending in with the shadows. He never knew anything about it until the figure dropped on top of him. Guard number twenty-seven had been getting a bit drowsy. He fell asleep all the more quickly when a cloth with a sickly smelling scent was suddenly pressed across his mouth. Guard number thirty never questioned why guard number fifteen walked up to him. After the chop to the back of the neck, he wasn't able to. And so it continued, all the way to guard number forty, who Naruto, now annoyed at having to take so many foxes to the side room, instead led guard number forty there himself stating that there was a problem that needed his attention. Guard number forty trusted guard number twenty-six completely and followed him to the room, byakugan activated. Unfortunately for him, several of the Hyuuga rooms had been sealed for privacy reasons and so he could not see what was inside the room. When he opened the room, there was a blinding flash of chakra, unseen to the normal eye. With his eyes out of the picture, it was a simple matter to strike him with a kunai in the back of the neck. Once he fell, Naruto brought out the dripping red kunai. He had not cleaned it since he started the mission. Guards taken care of, room ready, he moved to the next phase. With out the guards patrolling the area, no one would interrupt him as he moved on to those that were sleeping.

* * *

Hiashi was awoken by a violent slap across the face. He immediately opened his eyes to see a masked, hooded figure dressed in black standing over him, a katana held in one hand. He immediately opened his mouth to cry out, only to find that he couldn't make a sound. With a violent motion, he flung himself out of bed, in his sleep blurred state sending a slightly sloppy jūken strike, which was easily evaded. The figure raised one hand in a seal. "Pain," he said softly and it felt as if white-hot knives ripped through his body. Hiashi crumbled to the ground. The figure moved his hands into another hand sign. "Activate." A cold feeling came over Hiashi's body. It was one that was without pain, but it felt like every single muscle in his body had suddenly become as stiff as a board. "Ah," the figure slowly sat down on Hiashi's back. "I apologize for not giving you a fair fight Hiashi, but I've had a long night and I'm really not feeling up to it right now." He sighed theatrically. "Well, I suppose it's time to go. Places to be, conversation to be made, people to kill." Hiashi stomach clenched at the last phrase. "And you, Hiashi-_sama_," he said scorn filling his voice. "You, are coming with me." So saying, he grabbed Hiashi painfully by the hair and dragged him from his luxurious bedroom, not caring as he bumped his way down the small flight of steps leading to his door.

He was dragged for only thirty seconds, before the figure halted at the first door he came to. "Our first stop for the night Hiashi," he said cheerfully. "Don't worry, this won't take long." He checked the door quietly. It was locked. Drawing his katana, Hiashi watched as wind chakra ran along its length. Gently, noiselessly, he inserted the katana into the wood of the door and effortlessly cut around the lock. Pushing the door open as he sheathed his sword, the figure walked in. No sound was heard. Twenty seconds later, he walked out once more, red liquid dripping off the kunai he held in his hand. With a flick of his wrist, he sent several drops splashing onto Hiashi's face. Due to the paralysis seal placed on him, he couldn't even flinch. The liquid was warm.

Tears were running down from Hiashi's unblinking face. He had been taken to six different rooms and each time, the process was repeated. Blood now stained his robes and his face, were a pair of tear tracks could be seen, where his tears had washed away the blood. Hope had risen in his breast when he spotted a pair of guards walking down the corridor. But they had done nothing, just looked at him and smiled cruelly. Seeing the despair in his eyes, the figure crouched over in front of Hiashi. "Henge," he whispered. The despair just deepened. Hiashi understood. His guards could not help him anymore. Hair feeling as if it was about to be torn out by the roots, Hiashi was brought to another room. His captor stretched. "Well, this is the last stop before we get to the real party." Despite the situation, Hiashi could not help but feel a small stirring of relief. He feared that he would lose his sanity if this continued for any longer. The door was tried. It was unlocked. The figure went in, kunai drawn. This time, Hiashi heard a gasp, followed by a muffled shriek and the clattering of furniture, before there was a gasp. Then all was silent. The figure came out of the room, kunai stained with red once more. "The bitch was awake," he said lightly. Hate filled Hiashi's gaze. Then he heard a voice. "Hiashi-sama? What's going on?" Ko, one of his more trusted branch members, rounded the corner and stared at the scene in front of him, Hiashi on the ground, an armed specter above him. He started to shout out a warning, but the specter just swiped his hand in the air and Ko fell down, defeated. Hiashi felt the rage, the frustration, the helplessness and most of all, the hate for the man who had done this. He just sighed, ignoring Hiashi and his hate. "So sorry, Hiashi-_sama_. We are going to have to make one more stop. You," he said, pointing at one of the fake guards. "Carry him, we're going to the side room."

* * *

Three minutes later, Hiashi was dragged into the training dojo, along with seven other Hyuuga elders, three women and four men. Their eyes were just as dead as his and their face and robes were spotted with red. He learned later that they had all made the same stops as he had. They had all seen the room. Filled with forty, pale Hyuuga bodies, the floor sticky, wet and stained red. The tangy copper scent that filled the room and the red marks across their throats. But worst of all had been the ones whose eyes had been open, those pale, unseeing eyes. As each elder was dragged into the room, the clone pulling them had erupted in a small puff of smoke. Shadow clones. That explained all the replaced guards. Sitting easily on a chair, the figure made a one handed seal. "Release," he said casually. Strength returned to Hiashi's limbs and he dived at the man in front of him, hands outstretched, intent on killing this murderer. He was blown backward as he hit an invisible wall in front of him. Seals glowed at for corners of a large square, which contained all the Hyuuga. "Please," he stated. "Do you really think that I am that foolish?" Hiashi just glared at the man.

"Who are you?" one of the elders asked. Hiashi was too angry to notice who it was. The man in front of him smiled.

"Yes, I suppose that you will have to call me something. You may call me Yurei."

Naruto gazed at each of the Hyuuga in turn. He had them exactly where he wanted them. "Don't bother trying to scream for help," he said. "No one will hear you." Each and every one of the Hyuuga stiffened at his words. He smiled, allowing them to see the action from the way his mask moved. He noticed that Hiashi and four of the other elders were all using their Byakugan, trying to see who he was. Good luck with that. He had already tested the seals that he had sewn into this clothing. The byakugan could not see through it. "The seals I placed around this area mean that no sound will leave this dojo." The Hyuuga relaxed slightly. They had been worried that there was no one living _left_ to hear them.

"Why did you do this?" Hiashi demanded. Yurei turned to him and spoke a single name.

"Hinata Hyuuga."

One of the elders, an old man by the name of Horensa, exploded. "That weakling bitch! What do your actions have to do with that disgrace? You've just sentenced her to execution!" Killing intent flooded the room. It was strong, stronger than anything that Hiashi had ever felt, save the Kyuubi's. But the Kyuubi's killing intent had been used against more than a hundred thousand people. This one's killing intent was divided amongst eight, with the majority of it aimed at Horensa. None of them could move. One of the women lost control of her bladder, as did two of the men. Horensa, just keeled over. The figure blinked, then sighed. "Damn. Looks like I gave him a heart attack," he said in that same quiet, calm tone, putting a leash on his killing intent. "Activate," he said, putting his hands in a seal again and walking in the barrier. Hiashi glared, just a couple of inches away from him and he could not do anything about it. Looking at Horensa, he sighed in frustration, raised his hand over his head, then slammed a fist into Horensa's chest. And again. And again. With a gasp of breath and of pain, Horensa sat bolt upright. "You may have some broken ribs, but you're not dead. Yet." Yurei walked out of the barrier once more and released the paralysis seal on the rest of them, laughing slightly to himself as 'killing with a look' took an entirely different new meaning to him.

* * *

"What does my daughter have to do about this?" Hiashi asked, his teeth gritted.

Yurei pulled his katana out of its sheath, studying its gleam in the strong moonlight. "You know," he said calmly. "If there is one thing that I really hate, it is child abuse. Well, that and rape." Looking over at them, he let just a trickle of his killing intent through to make his point and to keep them quiet through his explanation.

"Let me tell you a story. A story of a young girl, innocent and gentle. She gave to whoever asked and her kindness was a light to many. But this young girl had a curse that she never deserved. The curse of a family, a_ noble_ clan," he said with great contempt. "This girl did all that she could to make her family pleased with her, but it was never enough. They always wanted more. They wanted her to do better. And so she tried. She tried and tried and tried. But no matter if she had any improvement, she never received so much as a single word of encouragement. Instead, she was given nothing but scathing comments and verbal abuse. The girl already being shy in nature, started to draw away from the world, within herself. She rarely smiled. She never laughed. And as the undeserved abuse continued, she began having trouble. She was forced to fight her younger sister, who, due to her kind nature, she could never raise a hand against, even in self-defense. The abuse got worse and she started to get hit. At first it was a couple of slaps, or the back of someone's hand. But it made her more nervous and in turn, her performance suffered, just as she did. And then, her family, the people she loved above all others, began to beat her, again and again and again. Despite being well within her rights, she never mentioned it to anyone else. She never went to get it healed. She suffered in silence, because her loved ones, her precious people, said that she deserved it. But without healing, she couldn't perform. And the beatings again. She became shy, introverted and most of all, lonely. Once again, because of her _noble_ family, she had difficulty making friends. She went through her life, unloved, friendless and all alone. Her family despised her, her sister hated her and her _father,_" here he looked at Hiashi with rage in eyes that could be seen to be a glowing red. Emotion tinged Yurei's voice for the first time since Hiashi had seen him. "Her_ father_, who she loved and respected above _all_ others, constantly beat her, abused her, sent her into deep depressions and at times, almost drove her to suicide!" Hiashi's eyes widened. He had no idea. Yurei closed his eyes, breathing deeply, calming himself.

"And yet, despite all this, she remained kind, gentle and loving, just like her mother." Yurei glared at Hiashi once more. "Her life was miserable beyond anything that any of _you_ could imagine." He breathed deeply once more.

"And then, something changed. She made a friend. And she could not be happier. For the first time in the longest time, she looked forward to every day. She looked forward to _living_. She could smile again and although she had nearly forgotten how, she could _laugh_ again." Yurei chuckled lightly. "These were, to her mind, the best times of her life. And she began to improve. She still never got complimented on any of her improvements, but the scathing comments and abuse did not matter, for she had a friend, someone who accepted her, for just being her. And then, her _noble_ family found out about her friend. He was a disreputable boy. Worse, he was the village pariah, the jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox, Kyuubi no Yoko." He looked at their astonished faces. "Yes I know who and what he is. I was with the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze when the beast was sealed." Hiashi's eyes widened. That meant that the man in front of them was of considerable power.

Yurei continued with his story. "And so, the _noble_ family brought the girl before the council of elders. They told her that she was longer to see her friend. Her heart died within her, but her friend had given her the courage to do something that she had never done before. She stood up for herself. 'No,' she said. The elders were furious. The girl had defied them! They ordered her to sever all ties with her friend. She refused yet again. And so, one of them stood up and spoke. 'To the dojo.' And there, this girl was forced to fight against the elders. Each one of them were masters at their style of taijutsu and none of them held back. After the first elder had sparred for half an hour, she was ordered to stay away from her friend. 'No,' she said. And the next elder took his turn. When she refused to abandon him yet again, the next elder faced her. And the next. And the next. Finally, all seven elders had beat the girl, for a total of three and a half hours. She was bruised, bloody, beaten to a pulp." Yurei pointed at a large bloodstain that was on the dojo floor. "And yet, she remained unbroken. She was finally showing the strength that the elders and her father had always wanted her to show. But they want her to be strong, they wanted her to be _obedient_. And once all the elders had finished, her father stood up. Hope bloomed in her for one brief moment. Surely her daddy would help her. That hope died in her chest as his foot kicked her in the stomach. Another half hour passed and this hurt the worst of all. Not because of the beating that was given, but because of who did it. Her dad, her father, was the one to do this to her. And once more, she was told to never see her friend again. Heartbroken, with multiple injuries and blood seeping from her wounds, she nevertheless managed to grasp the strength to whisper one more word. 'No.' Her _noble _family then told her that if she did not, a seal would be placed on both her and on the boy. Whenever they got close, the seal would automatically activate and this would happen to both of them." Yurei raised his hands in a seal. "PAIN!" he roared. Screams ripped from the mouths of each Hyuuga there. Yurei cancelled the seal and continued talking. "Worried, not for herself, but for her friend, the girl finally agreed. And then she was healed. Not everywhere, but just in the places were it would show. After all, it could not be known that a _noble_ family beat a child almost to the point of death." When he finished, the contempt and disgust he held for them was clear in his voice.

* * *

"So then what is this?" Horensa asked. "Judgment? Why would you even care?" Yurei shook his head. "I care, because she was once kind to me, she stood for me when I was pinned and weak. I care because I count her to be precious. And this is not judgment. This is merely a warning."

"A warning?" one of the female elders nearly shrieked. "You consider killing more than forty clan members nothing more than a warning?" Yurei paused.

"Maybe," he said. "But I think that you are forgetting all the little stops that we all made on our way here." Takashi threw up as realization hit them all. Yurei appeared not to notice.

"Maybe I do. Hinata is precious to me. I will do _anything_ to protect those precious to me. So, aye. This is a warning. And trust me, if something like this happens again, there will be no more warning. There will be _judgment_. No more physical abuse. No more verbal abuse. If you hurt her, I'll kill you. If you make tears come from her eyes, I'll remove yours and sell them to Kumo. If she ever goes through another beating like that again, I'll kill all of those responsible, then their immediate family. You will let her be friends with whoever she wishes, even the Demon Brat if that is what she wants."

"Unacceptable!" Horensa yelled. "You cannot do this to us! Who do you think you are!"

Yurei smirked. "A good friend. But a _terrible _enemy. I'm the man who broke into your compound. I'm the man who took out every single one of your guards without any of them even being able to set off the alarm. I'm the man who holds the life of you and your entire clan in the palm of his hand. Plus, if you don't do as I tell you to, then I will release certain… _information_ that I am sure you would not like the public to find out." In reality, Naruto had next to no dirt on the Hyuuga clan, but Jiraiya had always told him that everyone has some skeletons in their closet and that if you were vague enough about it, they would automatically assume the worse. In other words, he was bluffing. But as he said it and old nervous habit came into play, as Naruto raised both hands and rubbed the back of his neck and head. That, combined with the words _information_ led all the Hyuuga present to come to a distressing, if incorrect, assumption. _'He knows about the byakugan's blind spot!' _ They thought as one. "Agreed," Horensa spoke through gritted teeth.

* * *

"And one more thing." At this, his killing intent flooded the room once more, stronger than ever. "If you seal her, or even _threaten_ to seal her, then she and the Uchiha will have something in common, for I will kill every single Hyuuga aged over eleven years old. But if she disappears one night and I have even the slightest _inkling_ of suspicion that a Hyuuga is responsible for it, the Hyuuga clan dies. I will annihilate the entire clan. The men. The women and the children. Or maybe I'll just kill the children and those without any and let the parents bury their sons and daughters. Let them live with the knowledge that their babies are dead and that it is their fault." Silence greeted this statement. Horensa suddenly smirked.

"You wouldn't. Hinata cares about her family too much. If you did that, you'd hurt her." Yurei just shrugged. "Not as much as you do. Besides, she'll get over it eventually. After all, when have any of you done something right by her anyway?"

"And you!" Yurei knelt to the ground and poked Hiashi in the chest. "You will act as a father should. I don't know why I actually have to tell you this, but at least try and act like you love your daughter." Fire burned in Hiashi's eyes.

"You're wrong," he said angrily.

"Oh? How so?"

"I do love my daughter." Yurei gave Hiashi a back handed slap across the face.

"Don't lie to me," he said disparagingly.

"It's not a lie!" Hiashi shouted, ignoring the red welt on his face.

Yurei just looked at him. "I'll tell you a secret Hiashi," he said condescendingly. Hinata doesn't believe that." Hiashi recoiled as if struck. That, more than anything else that Yurei had said, had hit him hard. "Besides, Hiashi-_sama_. I've seen your daughters' rooms'. There's Hanabi filled with expensive gifts and pictures. She even has several pictures of you actually smiling! And then there's Hinata's room. The only way that you can tell it belongs to her is that stuffed fox toy that's on her bed, the different painting scheme and the picture of her mother that she keeps hidden away in fear that it will be taken from her, just like so many other precious things that she once had. I believe you said she had to _earn_ them back. Tell me Hiashi. Do you really think that she believes you love her?"

Hiashi hung his head. "Well. Are we in agreement?" Scowling, the Hyuuga elders nodded. "Good. Stand up." They remained on the ground. Yurei put his hands into the signal for pain. They stood up. Yurei nodded in satisfaction. "Activate." Once more, they were, paralyzed, this time standing up straight. Naruto walked towards them and with the kunai he had prepared hours before hand, he drew a red line across their throats. "That ink is special. It can be hidden with a genjutsu, but the Hyuuga eyes will still see it. Tomorrow morning the entire Hyuuga clan will apologize to Hinata, on bended knee. Do that and you will be given the only substance that will wash away that ink without turning it poisonous. Or forever live with the shame of having it on your neck." He turned to leave. "you will remain here until sunrise. When the sun rises, the paralysing seal i've painted on you will dissipate." Naruto had been able to easily copy the seal from his dad's book. Takashi spoke, surprising them all, except Naruto. There were two seals placed on them. One to stop movement, one to stop speaking. He had normally just activated them both at once. "Then the others aren't dead." Naruto, known to them as Yurei, shook his head.

"No. This was only a warning after all. Come sunrise, every one of you will be able to move once more."

"Are you a Namikaze?"

Naruto quirked an eyebrow at him. "Why on earth would I tell you that? Minato loved me and I still love him, even if he's gone. The village practically worships the Yondaime Hokage as a minor god and yet I see how you treat the Namikaze heir, his son. What difference would it make if I were a Namikaze or not?"

Shocked silence greeted this statement. Hiashi in particular was dumbstruck. He had known Minato well, mostly through business as clan head and Hokage. Nevertheless, Minato was one of the best friends that he had ever had. He had never even known that he had had a son. "Why do you ask?" the man known to them as Yurei inquired.

"By their enemies, the Namikaze were known for their flashy jutsu and for good friends, but terrible enemies. Their friends also knew them for another skill: their deadly assassination skills. They would have been known for the same by their enemies, at least, if it were not for their deadly assassination skills."

"There is one more thing that the Namikaze clan is noted for. Honor. A Namikaze would never ask someone to do something that they wouldn't do themselves," Naruto said. "But above all, they would sacrifice anything for their family, to those precious to them." Moving behind them, he watched as their eyes followed him. Their mouths dried as they heard the steely rasp of his katana being drawn. "You Hyuuga grow your hair long to show your noble status. To show that you are a clan of honor." In one, wide slash, he cut off the hair of each Hyuuga, dipping and lifting his sword as he did so, leaving their hair cut at the nape of their neck. "You have no honor." Despite these words, he removed the paper seal that he had placed on the back of their necks. "But I do. And so I will not continually threaten you with a torture seal at all times. But since I am pretty pissed that you do it to the cadet branch…" Yurei waved his hand in front of him and the kazebo jutsu knocked them all to the ground.

Yurei let out an exhalation of satisfaction, turned and walked towards the door. He stopped just before leaving. "Maybe I am a Namikaze, maybe I'm not. That doesn't matter. Hinata stayed at Kurenai Yuuhi's house tonight. She will be here a couple of hours after sunrise. The _entire_ clan will be there for her return. They will all apologize for the wrongs that they have committed to her in the past. And they will apologize on their _knees._ Either you enforce this, or I will. Oh and one last thing. The Namikaze heir is under my protection, as is Hinata and I would appreciate it if news of his existence was not bandied about around the village. Touch either of them and I guarantee that you will regret it." So saying, he disappeared from the dojo.

* * *

In a couple of hours, the entire clan was in uproar. Naruto had made sure that he painted the fuiin seal on each and every Hyuuga in the household. Shadow clones were a very useful thing. And each and every Hyuuga who had ever hurt Hinata had woken to see a terrifying figure standing over them, holding a katana to their throats, only to find that they were completely helpless. Every person who Naruto had found out had ever beaten Hinata was shorn. Naruto had made a copy of any of the names that Hinata had sobbed out when she had completely broken down. He did not press her for answers, but he got them, nevertheless. After that it was a relatively simple matter to use a couple of shadow clones in Hiashi's office to find out who lived where. The entire clan was called for an emergency meeting. The newly shorn Hyuuga were particularly angry. But their fear outweighed their anger. Finally, after much deliberation, they came to a conclusion.

* * *

Anko had decided against walking Hinata to the Hyuuga clan compound, but had instead climbed a tree where she could see the Hyuuga clan grounds with a telescope that she had confiscated from Jiraiya a long time ago. She watched wide eyed as she watched Hinata walk through the gates and the entire clan kneeled down in front of her. "Kami above, she whispered. "He did it. The little punk actually did it."

* * *

Authors note

And cut. Hope you liked it. Review if you thought that Naruto had actually killed them. Scratch that. Review anyway. Right now, I'm in the middle of a camp and I had to swap two king-size chocolate bars with a mate, who incidentally, was the same one who suggested I leave of updating for a while, so that I could use his wi-fi to upload this thing. He says that I'm foolish. That I will be disappointed with the number of reviews. HELP ME PROVE HIM WRONG! Ahem. Hope you liked it. More on Hyuuga's humiliation next chapter, Hinata's point of view. I enjoyed writing this chapter, it was fun at times, yet real difficult in others. So, read and review and help me with ideas, like a different chapter heading. Didn't like this one, couldn't think of another. And in case you haven't noticed, I also kinda suck at Japanese names. I could use a hand with that as well.


	10. NOT A NORMAL CHAPTER!

Author's Note:

SO SORRY! THIS IS NOT A NORMAL CHAPTER! Just wanted to say that I came back from camp and was completely overwhelmed by all the positive response that I got for the last chapter. It really made my day. Any way, I had a great time at the camp, but I felt it my duty to reveal that I had a little accident. Slipped, fell, big fall. I kind of landed on my arm. Nothing broken, fortunately, but apparently I sprained it rather badly, so it's in a sling at the moment. Next chapter will take a bit longer to update, as I'm writing with only one hand. It's just about half done though. It should be out before the end of the month. My most humble apologies. I'll be replacing this chapter as soon as the new one comes out. And yes, Naruto will be having a little chat with Sasuke in the next chapter. Any ideas as to what should happen?


	11. The Ladies Figure Things Out

AN: Whew! Another chapter done. First of all, I have to thank everyone for the reviews that you all gave me last chapter (chapter 9) once again. It was slightly humbling. I also have to say that I found this chapter hard to write. I kept trying to include Sasuke in with this chapter, but somehow it didn't seem right you know? And hey! I've broken the 60,000 word mark!

Anyway. Enjoy.

* * *

The Ladies Figure Things Out

Chapter 10

The sun had just started to rise when Hinata finally left the land of dreams to rejoin the land of the living. Opening her eyes, she immediately tensed. This was not her room. She sat bolt upright, her heart beating wildly, her eyes darting around as she tried to figure out where she was. With a relieved sigh, she sank back into the bed. She knew this place, she could recognize the wallpaper. She was at Kurenai-san's house. But why? Why was she here and not at home. Hinata cast her mind back.

* * *

_Flashback_

Tears ran down from Hinata's pearly lavender eyes as she pressed her face into Naruto's dampening jacket. Sobbing, she poured out her heart to her crush, in her broken state leaving nothing out, telling him all that had been done to her. That they had done to her. Hinata had never before seen this side of Naruto-kun: instead of him growing angry and immediately charging off to bash some heads, he just stayed with her. He stayed with her, his hand stroking her back, soothing her bruised soul, as he listened to her words and calmed her broken spirit. He was just there for her, a shoulder to cry on as she went through her emotional breakdown.

Naruto spoke little to not at all and only spoke when she had a halt in her crying. Then he had asked her for all the names of the people who had done this to her. At this point, Hinata had just frozen up. She couldn't tell him! What would they do to her if they found out that she had told on them? But, in Naruto-kun's arms, the possibilities of anything bad happening to her had just seemed to fade away. In his grasp, with his arms wrapped comfortingly around her, she felt… safe. And so she had told him. Name after name had dropped from her lips, as well as what each of them had done to her. She started crying again after the third name, but Naruto was there, his hand stroking her hair, helping her to gain a release from all the pain and sorrow that she had bottled up in her heart, a release that was so desperately needed. Finally, about two hours later, her tears long since dried out, she had stopped sobbing. She just lay there for a small while, feeling suddenly acutely embarrassed that Naruto had been holding her like this for so long, that she had let him see what was buried within her. She looked up into his face, her eyes starting to droop as sleep started to claim her. "Don't worry Hinata-chan. I'll take care of things. I'll fix this. That's a promise." Hinata noticed the tenderness in his eyes, but also something else, a fire, hidden deep in its depths. A fire of determination, and a barely suppressed rage.

_Flashback end._

* * *

Hinata swallowed. She did hope that Naruto was not going to do anything foolish. Although, odds are that that was exactly what he was planning on doing. Throwing off her covers, Hinata hopped lightly off the bed, only to give a small shriek as she stepped on a brush that had been left there on the floor, bristles up. Kurenai entered the room immediately, to find her student hopping on one foot, swearing soundlessly if her expression was anything to go by. Anko walked in right behind Kurenai and snickered a little bit at Hinata's expression. She had been the one to 'accidentally' leave the brush where Hinata was likely to step on it when she got out of bed. At least she didn't use the brush with sharp bristles. Or the one with poison on its tips…

"Hinata! You're awake," Kurenai said, stating the obvious. "How are you feeling?"

Hinata just paused for a moment, trying to sort out her feelings for herself. They were all just so very muddled at the moment. "Better," she said quietly. "Not exactly good, but better than I was yesterday." Physically, at least, that was true. There was not a single cut, bruise or mar on her pale skin, which made Kurenai wonder just what the heck was in that cream that Naruto gave her. But mentally, she was still convinced that the elders and her… father, would make sure that she could no longer be with Naruto-kun. And that hurt her more than anything else. But, at least she had told him why. He would not feel as hurt as he would have if she had just suddenly started avoiding him. Not that they could really do anything else. At first, Hinata had just thought that she would ignore what they had told her, come hell or high water. But they were threatening to put the caged bird seal on Naruto as well. This, she could not allow. Which meant, that she would have to stay away from Naruto. But first.

"Ano, h-how did I g-get here?" she asked.

"Blondie carried you over. He seemed pissed as holy fuck at what happened to you."

Hinata blushed at Anko's language.

Anko grinned evilly. "I think he likes you."

"Eep!" Hinata went a brick red in color, which caused Anko to roar with laughter. She stopped as she saw the faint prickling of tears in Hinata's eyes.

"What's the matter girl? You shouldn't get so upset over a boy liking you. It happens. Although," she said musingly, her eyes raking slowly over Hinata. "It would probably happen a lot more often if you wore some different clothes… OW!" The last word was from Kurenai punching her in the head.

"That's not it!" Hinata almost shouted, her stutter gone in her moment of distress. "I know Naruto likes me. As a friend, no more, no less. But that's what makes it so hard! I can't be friends with Naruto-kun, it is unfitting for a Hyuuga to be friends with the village pariah!"

Anko tensed at these words. They were too close to words that she herself had heard, many, many times.

"I never took you for being one of those stuck up Hyuuga pricks girl," Anko said, her voice cold as a grave. "Guess I was wrong." Deliberately, she turned her back on Hinata and caught the full force of Kurenai's arm behind her open handed slap. Anko took a surprised step back, astonishment in her stance, as she looked at Kurenai, who simply radiated fury.

"Look at her Anko. Look at her," so saying, Kurenai took Anko by the shoulders and forcibly spun her around. Hinata had fallen to the ground, tears once more starting to stream silently down her face. She started speaking in an incredibly calm, soft voice and yet the two older women had no problem hearing her.

"It's not that. It's not that at all. Naruto-kun is the first real friend that I have ever had. I care for him, probably more than I care for anyone else. But the elders don't like him. My father doesn't like him either. If I carry on being friends with him, they'll hurt him. I don't mind if they hurt me. Not really, they've done it often enough. But if I carry on being his friend, they'll put one of those cursed torture seals on him. I can't cause him that kind of pain. I'm not worth it."

* * *

Kurenai walked over to her and rubbed her back soothingly. Anko stayed where she was for a while though, rubbing a very specific point above her right collarbone. Her own curse. She understood this girl's problem well. But she also knew what the boy's situation was. That was something that she also understood, far too well. In a few short steps, Anko was kneeling down by Hinata's side. Placing one hand on the girl's chin and the other on her upper arm, Anko lifted up her face so that their eyes met. "That's not going to happen," Anko said calmly. Hinata hung her head, wordlessly denying Anko's reassurances.

Anko just shook her slightly. "Listen to me girl. Your family cannot do that to Naruto. First of all, he's a friend of the Hokage, hell the old man looks at him like a grandson and he'd have a fit. The old man may not be as deadly as he used to be, but let me tell you this. There is _no one _in your entire clan who would even stand a chance against him. And besides that, your clan would not dare put that seal on Naruto, for… special reasons." Kurenai nodded backing up Anko's claim, which was nothing but the truth. The rest of the clans in Konoha would take a very dim view on the Hyuuga clan gaining complete control over the Kyuubi jinchuriki. It might even cause civil war to start in the village. They wouldn't care nearly as much if it were a normal kid.

"So. Don't worry about the seal or anything. It's not going to happen."

Hinata sniffed and dried her eyes. "But they'll still hurt him if I stay with him," she sighed. "Maybe it would be better if I just stayed away." She nodded slowly. That may be for the best, she thought. I will not let them hurt Naruto-kun because of my weakness!

Anko nodded slowly. She understood. She did not approve, but she understood. But she also knew that that was probably the worst decision that could be made at this point. But how to make Hinata see that? Anko grimaced slightly. She did _not_ do the kind and caring crap. She really did not know how to deal with this situation. But she could try. "You know," Anko said slowly, thinking furiously about what she was going to say. "You may be right. Maybe he won't get hurt. Physically at least." Hinata looked up at Anko, confused. "Tell me girl, how do you think it would feel having to go through your life having no-one?" Anko asked quietly. "Looking around you everyday to see every other person, every other _being_ with a companion, a friend, a family? Loneliness. Complete and utter loneliness. It is a torture so sharp, so excruciating, that only those others who have felt its poisonous bite can ever truly have a semblance of understanding at how painful it really is. It's like constantly being shut up in a dark place, with no light, not even a chink. Only the strongest of people can survive that darkness with their sanity intact." Here, Anko tilted her head and gave a slightly crazy grin. "Me? I was strong, but not that strong. But the best thing in the world for a person in that situation is when they find a light, a light in the form of a person, a person who accepts them for who they are. A friend. Sometimes it means that they'll hold on _tightly_ to that person, because they never again want to go that dark place. What do you think will happen to Naruto if you decide to abandon him? You _may_ stop the physical pain that your family _may_ dish out to him. But in reality, the pain that you will be causing him will be far, far worse."

Anko looked self-consciously at the two other females who were just staring at her. She shifted nervously; slightly uncomfortable that she had revealed so much of herself during her little monologue. Snorting, she moved off to Kurenai's 'fridge. "Well, that's just my opinion you know." She began to rummage around inside. "But you're a big girl – ah!" She pulled out a beer, a triumphant grin on her face. "You'll make the right decision yourself." Ignoring Kurenai's protests that it was too early for that sort of thing, Anko twisted off the bottle cap and chugged half the bottle in one go. After letting loose like that, she _needed_ a drink.

* * *

Breakfast was a quiet affair, just a couple of pieces of toast with jam. Hinata stayed silent for the entire time, obviously thinking on Anko's words. Kurenai attempted to make some small talk, obviously trying to lighten the mood. Anko just sat and brooded, another beer in her hand. Soon enough, it was time to leave. Kurenai took Hinata to the door and quirked an eyebrow at Anko, asking silently whether or not she wanted to come along. Anko just shook her head. She wasn't welcome in the Hyuuga compound. But that didn't mean that she wouldn't make sure that she could see the results of her bet with Blondie. As Hinata walked out of the door, she stopped, looking back. "Kurenai-san, please excuse me, I have something I n-need to do." Kurenai glanced curiously at her daughter figure; who walked back into the house and in a few short steps was standing in front of Anko. Anko stared challengingly at Hinata, before blinking in shock when the heiress bowed down to her. "Thank you Anko-san. I cannot tell you how much your words helped me," she said softly, with nary a stutter to cheapen her thanks. Turning around, she walked back towards the softly smiling Kurenai and the both of them left for the Hyuuga compound.

Hinata was once again quiet during the walk back to her… house. It was not a home. A home was a place where you were cared for, where you were loved. A home is a place where you can be yourself, where you can be who you are. The Hyuuga clan compound was not a home. It was just somewhere that she lived. But, maybe one day, it could become a home. Hinata remembered how Naruto had said that he would fix everything. That he would "take care of this." Remembering his words now had her slightly worried. Naruto-kun had a habit of rushing in before thinking. But that was one of the reasons why she liked him. She had already decided that no matter what, she would stay with Naruto. Anko had helped her see that that was the best choice. Besides, she didn't want to go back to that dark place herself.

The two females began to draw close to the Hyuuga gates. Looking ahead, Hinata could see the familiar white robes belonging to the two Hyuuga guards at the gate of the compound. At this distance, it was just possible to see that one of them had moved inside, probably to pass on a message. Hinata felt a small flutter of fear deep in her belly before she quelled it ruthlessly. She would not let them change her decision. Despite her feelings though, she slowly took a deep breath, beginning to mentally prepare herself for the ordeal that was sure to be ahead of her. The fact that the guards had been watching for her with the byakugan was not a good sign. "Don't worry Hinata. I'm right here next to you. Stay strong." Hinata nodded. She would stay strong.

The second guard came back just before the two of the fairer sex reached the gates. Kurenai was wary, very wary. The closer she got to the compound, the worse the feeling of unease got. That feeling rolled off of the Hyuuga home in waves. As she got near enough to take a closer look at the guards, she slowed down, one hand on Hinata's shoulder pulling her away from them. The guards were tense, unbelievably so. They were Hyuuga and they were showing emotion.

Suspiciously, Kurenai reached out with her senses and her eyes widened as she felt the ever so subtle feeling of a small, well placed genjutsu. Immediately, she pulled out a kunai. "Get behind me Hinata," she said calmly, her voice soft, icy. Startled, Hinata nevertheless obeyed without question. "Who are you?" Kurenai demanded. The two guards looked questioningly at Kurenai.

"We are this mornings guards." One of them drawled, as if he were talking to someone much younger and stupider than he. Scowling, Kurenai slapped her hands together. Both of the guards' eyes widened. "No! Don-"

"KAI!" Kurenai dispelled the genjutsu. She was most surprised when the same two guards as before standing in front of them. Peering closely at them, she immediately noticed that each of them had a red mark running across their throats. Kurenai's eyes widened as she noticed the placement of that mark. If a blade had done it then it would have cut through both of the jugular veins and severed the windpipe, leading to a quick, soundless death. In short, it resembled a perfect assassination strike.

One of the guards hissed quietly. 'It figures,' he thought. 'Of course the Genjutsu Mistress of Konoha would be able to tell whether or not we were using a genjutsu to hide the mark of our shame.' The other guard simply glared at Kurenai. "I assure you, Yuuhi-san. We are all who we appear to be. And we would appreciate it if this would be the _last_ time that you dispel this particular henge." Kurenai nodded slowly. The guards redid their henge and one of them led Hinata and Kurenai into the compound.

Hinata almost gave a squeak when she saw that what appeared to be the entire clan was standing in the clearing in front of the house. Her mind was in a whirlwind of activity as she tried to remember the few things that required the entire clan as witnesses. The only one that she could think of at this point was banishment… Hinata's father was the first of the crowd of people before her, directly in front of the Hyuuga elders.

"Hinata," Hiashi said. Hinata's first impulse was to flinch. But she ruthlessly crushed this instinct and faced both her father and the rest of the Hyuuga clan with her head held high. She had promised herself that she would stay strong. She would true to that promise.

"Yes father?" she asked, her voice sounding a little bit forced, but firm and questioning.

"For a long time now, the elders and I have said that you were not worthy to be the heir of the Hyuuga clan, that you were not worthy of being a Hyuuga." Kurenai slowly started to tense, not liking where this was going. Her sensing skills were screaming at her that this was a trap. Each and every single person in the area, apart from herself and Hinata, was under a henge. It was not a position that any ninja would find welcome. But, as she strained her genjutsu sensing to the highest of her ability, she realized that they all had most of their chakra centered around their necks. Despite this, she slowly forced her muscles to relax, preparing them for explosive movement. She didn't really know what was going on, but whatever it was, she would not be unprepared for it. She was prepared for anything.

Hiashi continued to speak. "In our efforts to mold you into our image of what we thought the Hyuuga heiress should be, we berated you, pulled you down and constantly insulted you. All of us." The rest of the Hyuuga's nodded in agreement, their faces expressionless.

"When you still retained your kindness and your shy nature, extra training sessions were introduced in the hopes that you would become more confident. But you proceeded to become shyer, and you never lost your kind nature. Despite this, or perhaps because of this, you were an outcast amongst your own clan. Unaccepted and abused. Because of this," Hiashi's voice rose in a crescendo. Hinata maintained her silence, neither flinching, nor making any sign that her father's words affected her.

"Because of this," Hiashi continued, his voice quiet, "we ask for your forgiveness." Hinata and Kurenai blinked, surprised at Hiashi's words. Hinata gasped as her father got on his knees in front of her. Behind him, the rest of the Hyuuga clan got onto their knees and touched their foreheads to the ground. "We were the ones who were in the wrong and have committed many injustices upon your person. Yesterday was the first time that you have ever acted as the Hyuuga heiress that we wished to have, when you defied both the elders and myself. You showed the type of strength that is rare in this world. You may have been capable of this strength throughout your life, if we had not stunted your growth. We have failed as a clan in helping you grow. And I," at this point, it was possible to see the shame in Hiashi's eyes. "I have failed as a father." Hiashi Hyuuga, clan head of the Hyuuga clan, the strongest clan in Konoha, the mightiest of Hidden Villages, placed his forehead on the ground bowing down to his daughter, wishing that his hair were longer, if only to hide the beginnings of the tears that were welling up in his eyes. He heard a small _thud_ in background, reminiscent of someone hitting the ground in a dead faint. Not lifting his head from the ground, Hiashi activated his byakugan and saw Hinata staring at the bowed heads of the entire Hyuuga clan in shock, ignoring the unconscious form of her mentor on the ground beside her.

* * *

Naruto was walking down one of the main roads of Konoha, ignoring the customary dirty looks that he received on the way. He was feeling exceptionally pleased with himself. He had been able to leave a couple of henged clones in the Hyuuga compound so he had a perfect view of the entire thing. Although it had been a little bit awkward when Hinata had gotten over the shock of the entire thing and had started to – Naruto's thoughts were abruptly cut off as a rope suddenly wrapped around his neck.

"Shit!"

* * *

Kurenai left the Hyuuga compound in a complete daze. Never, never in a thousand years had she ever expected something like that to happen. It was unthinkable! Unexplainable! It was… damn it all to hell, it was just so completely confusing! What on earth could have made it so that the entire Hyuuga clan would get on bended knee and offer their apologies to _anyone_, least of all Hinata? Kurenai frowned. The only things that would make the clan act in concert like that was if it would increase the clan's status, or if both the elders and Hiashi had ordered it done. But even then, Kurenai doubted that a regular order from the elders and clan heads would succeed in making the Hyuuga's debase themselves.

Kurenai's eyes widened as she let out a gasp. There was possibly one more thing that would force the entire clan to act in concert in such a thing. Fear. But that was impossible, for that option to be accomplished one would have to have threatened the entire population of the Hyuuga clan. But then again… Kurenai's mind trailed back to the two long red marks that seemed to be almost painted across the two Hyuuga guards' throats, in the perfect position for a soundless kill. She remembered feeling the genjutsu on each and every Hyuuga in the compound, all of them hiding something in the exact same place. Kurenai swallowed, seeing it now. It had been a warning. Someone, or _something_ had shown the Hyuuga clan that if he or she had so wished it, he could have killed each and every single one of them. But who would be able to do that?

Infiltrating the Hyuuga compound was supposed to be impossible! Especially with their all-seeing eyes guarding the compound! Kurenai shook her head. Obviously, it wasn't impossible and thinking about who had the skill to do something like that would get her nowhere. Kurenai didn't know of any assassin who would do something like that just to help out Hinata. And it was obvious that this had been done for Hinata. And the only ones who really knew what had happened to her the girl had been her, Anko and Naruto. Anko had been at her house all night, so that ruled her out. Unless she herself had some very interesting sleeping habits, then Kurenai knew that she had nothing to do with it. All that that left was Naruto, the dead last of the academy. There was no way that he could pull of something like this. Not only was it way beyond his skill level, but it also seemed to be far too… subtle, for him to pull off. Even so, a niggling doubt remained in Kurenai's mind that refused to quiet itself.

By now, she had reached her home. Opening the front door, she immediately moved to the flowers on he windowsill. Watering them always helped her think. With a sigh, she began going over what she knew of Naruto. He was an obnoxious, hyperactive child with way too much energy and far too much enthusiasm. He always wore a bright orange jumpsuit, seemingly so that people would notice him straight away. Lately, he had become a good friend of Hinata's and was helping bring her out of her shell. He was also completely oblivious and more than a little bit cheeky. All in all, most of the time he seemed like an ordinary kid. Kurenai bit her lip. No, he was no ordinary kid. Not by a long shot. Quickly, Kurenai picked up on all the small things. The small things which she had missed. The first time she saw him carrying Hinata, he had been wearing a black ensemble with a hood that masked his features perfectly: just the thing for an assassination. Then there was fact that he knew far more about her than he had a right to. And his words… He hid it well, but every now and then he said something that showed that he was not what he made himself out to be.

_"Thing that they don't realize is, that while they might not be looking at me, I'm always looking at them." _A small, sad smile as he gestured for Kurenai to take the unconscious Hinata from him. _"I don't want her to get into trouble and the Hyuuga clan won't like it if they see her in the arms of the "Demon Brat."_

And then, there had been last night. Kami above, how could she have forgotten about last night? Naruto had come through the door, shown a knowledge of Anko more complete than what they had for her in the bingo books! (Anko was included in the bingo books after castrating a daimyo's son with a spoon. Her only words on the subject were: "He had it coming.") And his knowledge was so extensive that it also included A class secrets! Not only that, but after matching her Killing intent without effort, not to mention insulting her, Naruto then proceeded to befriend the Snake Mistress! Her eyes widened and she dropped the watering can that she had held in her hands, not even noticing the pained shout as it dropped to the ground, with a small interruption in its way down.

_Flashback_

Silence remained in the air as Naruto finished his story about what had happened to Hinata. "I'll kill them," Kurenai said furiously through gritted teeth. Naruto shook his head.

"Thought about that already. Hinata would never forgive you. Or me," he finished darkly.

_Flashback end_

At the time, Kurenai had thought the words so incongruous that she had not even spared them a second thought, sure that what he had said had been an idle jest. But, looking on it, the blond kid had been completely serious. He really did want to kill them. But Hinata would not have forgiven him and so, he had done the next best thing, or got someone else to do it for him. "Either way," Kurenai murmured to herself. "Naruto Uzumaki is a lot more dangerous than we first thought him to be."

* * *

Said dangerous individual cursed fluently as he was hauled off of his feet with a jerk by the rope, which sharply pulled him deep into an alley. His unseen foe acted quickly as soon as Naruto was within range, yanking him to his feet before grabbing him close to her with an arm around his neck. Naruto acted on instinct.

Immediately sending chakra to his limbs to strengthen them, he arched his hips and threw himself forward, breaking out of the hold. Falling to his hands as he did so he used them as the support necessary to bring his legs round as he lashed out in a kick behind him. His opponent, however, jumped back, pulling on the rope around Naruto's neck, which sent him crashing to the ground. Scrabbling in the dirt, gagging for breath, Naruto performed two hand signs and slammed his palm on a rock in front. Channeling his wind chakra to the newly henged rock, Naruto swung the kunai at the rope, which parted easily to wind enhanced blade, before he threw said kunai at his attacker.

His masked enemy disdained dodging and simply snagged the knife out of the air. Naruto couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, impressed by her skill. It was a rather risky business catching an augmented kunai. Especially if said augmentation was wind chakra. And yes. It was definitely a her, wearing a skintight black body suit underneath a large baggy sleeved coat, which showed tantalizing glimpses of a well-curved figure and a pair of pert… _'No! NO! __**NO!**__ Not a pervert, not a pervert. DAMN YOU ERO-SENNIN!"_ Nevertheless, he blushed slightly at the remembered feeling of softness as she had held him close to advantage of Naruto's agitation, his opponent settled into a fighter's stance, before charging forward. _"Um, kid? Really not the time to be thinking about these things right now." _Naruto silently agreed with Shinigami as he moved his head to the side, missing the swing the kunai by a hairsbreadth. Once again, he ducked, trying to avoid the blade held in his enemy's hand. Naruto cursed the academy rules of not owning any real weapons until graduating. 'Next time, screw the rules,' he thought. 'I'm not leaving the house unarmed.'

"_Kid! The rope!"_

Naruto mentally thanked Shinigami and kicked the ground in front of him, sending up a cloud of dust with wind chakra that, for the moment, shielded him from view. He thought that it was more than enough time to bend down and grab the rope off the ground. The boot to his chin told him otherwise. Naruto used the momentum given by the kick to pull into a backflip, gaining some distance from his adversary. Immediately, he charged, weaving to the side to avoid another swing from the kunai, which was handled as if the person knew a lot about how to use it.

"_It's got no elemental compositioning."_

'Got it!'

Using his inferior height to ruthless effect, Naruto got under the masked nin's arm and drove his fist into her solar plexus, frowning as she was able to arch her back in order to prevent herself from taking all of the damage. It wouldn't have decided the fight, he had been too close to her to be able to put his full body weight behind the punch, but the chakra he had pumped into his limb should have been enough to at least slow her down… He hoped.

Naruto grunted as he received the force of an elbow hammering down on the muscle above his right collarbone. He needed to focus. A fight never slowed down, it was always flowing, moving and you had to be completely aware of your surroundings. He hadn't been focusing above him and so his enemy had brought her elbow down in a pumping motion, aiming to deaden his arm. She had miscalculated. It wasn't completely on target, but it was still able to send Naruto staggering back a pace, which was enough for the kunai to once again be brought into play.

Acting on instinct, Naruto reached out – and caught it by the blade. Quickly the blade was pulled back, which would have sent a deep gash into the palm of Naruto's hand. Or it would have, if it had moved. Or, perhaps if Naruto had not wrapped the rope that had been used to choke him several times around his hand. Naruto heard a gasp as he brought his other forearm into the crook of her elbow, forcing her arm up and allowing Naruto to disarm her. Not to be outdone, his opponent, showing remarkable flexibility, bent backwards and kicked Naruto's hand, sending the kunai spinning up into the air. Using the same leg, another kick sent Naruto stumbling back a pace and she caught the kunai by its handle once more.

The next thirty seconds was spent in a whirlwind of taijutsu, Naruto forced to use the frog kumite in order to keep up. His opponent fought with a highly flexible, sinuous taijutsu that seemed almost tailor made to fight against the frog kumite. It was only by throwing in a couple of brawling moves, using his unpredictability to its fullest extent and his own pure headed stubbornness that allowed Naruto to keep up. The rope, although well made, was starting to get a little frayed from being used to constantly block the slashes that were sent his way. The healing factor might have also helped in the fight... just a little bit. 'I'm going to need a new jacket after this,' Naruto pouted.

But his opponent wasn't completely unscathed either. Naruto had still managed to get a few heavy blows in. Even, she wasn't even starting to slow down and he was still fresh. This could go on for a very long while. But her body language at this point wasn't pointing towards desperation, anger, or any negative emotion. In fact, according to Shinigami, her body language indicated… satisfaction? 'Can I use a jutsu now?' Naruto asked irritably.

"_I said no. The only ones you know right now are to recognizable. Either that, or they'll kill your opponent outright. You don't want that. Especially if this is who I think it is. Besides, she's got a nice rack."_

Naruto started. 'I'm telling Arlia you said that when she gets back."

"_SHIT!"_

"**AND IF HE DOESN'T, I WILL TELL HER."**

"_**DOUBLE SHIT!"**_

"Tell me what?" Arlia said.

"_And of course, triple shit," _Shinigami whimpered. Kyuubi laughed as he let go of the illusion. Naruto tuned them out before anything else happened.

_"BAKA-KITSUNE!" _Or at least, he tried to.

Once again, Naruto snorted. But he was not going to let this distraction cost him. Instead, Naruto was searching for an opening. He had an idea, an idea that just might work. If only he could – there! Bringing his hand round in a sharp movement, he whipped the rope bound to ho his hand around, the frayed end connecting solidly with his enemy's eyes. As she blinked in shock, her hand automatically going to her face, Naruto struck, grabbing the kunai with his rope bound hand, he succeeded in twisting it out of her grasp. Twirling it around so that it was blade first, Naruto drove it forward, flinching slightly as he felt it connect with… nothing.

Too smart to stay still while in a vulnerable position, his opponent leapt back, performing a small series of hand signs as she did so before thrusting her arms forward. Snakes erupted from her baggy sleeves and completely entangled Naruto, tying him tightly. Naruto struggled for a couple of seconds, before smirking and changing into a log with a puff of smoke. Cursing, the snake summoner turned around, expecting Naruto to come from behind. And so, she did not see the soundless smoke as Naruto undid his henge. Nor did she hear the jump that Naruto did to deliver himself right behind her, where a chakra-powered chop to the neck knocked her unconscious.

* * *

When Anko came to, she had been unmasked, unarmed and tied up both securely and efficiently. The room she was in was quite spartan, with light blue walls and a single chair, which was currently occupied. She raised an eyebrow at her captor, who was sitting in front of her munching on a bowl of ramen. (AN: When I say efficiently tied, I mean that she was covered in rope pretty much from head to toe. The only way that she would be able to move was by crawling away like a worm.) Reaching into herself, she tried to access her chakra, only to find that it was for some reason inaccessible.

She watched her captor for a moment, her gaze curious. He seemed to be talking to himself, or rather, as if he was having a conversation with several others, others that she was unable to hear. "Alright boys. So now what do I do with her?" Naruto turned a bright red worthy of Hinata. "ERO-BAKA! I'm not going to do that!" He suddenly grimaced "No kidding fuzz-butt, I already knew that this was going to make things more difficult." He frowned. "No, we can't kill the crazy snake lady." At this, Anko made herself known by clearing her throat a little. Naruto jumped as he turned and saw that the purple haired woman was awake. Mentally berating the fact that he hadn't noticed that she had woken up, as well as the fact that he had been talking out loud instead of in his head.

"_Don't be too hard on yourself, kid. You haven't really been getting a lot of sleep lately now have you?_ Naruto sighed, before looking questioningly at Anko.

"What? Do the voices in my head bother you?"

Anko blinked, then slowly shook her head. "Isn't all of this just a little bit excessive?" she asked with a wry look to her face, shrugging her shoulders to gesture at all of the different measures that were being used to contain her. Naruto just shook his head.

"Not at all," Naruto said. "Let's just call it a compliment to my respect for your ability. That and I just happened to have the chakra seals on me at the time." He shrugged. "I don't really believe in the concept of overkill."

Anko snorted. "It wouldn't have anything to do with that stunt you pulled with the Hyuuga clan would it?"

Naruto smiled disarmingly. "Tell me Anko-san, what could I, the dead last academy student, possibly do to the mighty Hyuuga clan?"

Anko laughed openly at him. "Dead last? You? You forget that I just fought with you kid.

"Seriously. Just look up my academy records. It states there quite clearly that I am a, and I quote: "hopeless student with no potential at all to be a ninja who will most likely get killed on his first C-rank mission."

Anko just looked at him. "Bullshit. Like I just said, I just fought with you."

"Maybe you're just not as good as you think you are," Naruto suggested musingly.

Anko flushed. "Oi! Watch it kid! Or I'll-"

"Or you'll what, Anko-san? In case you haven't noticed, you don't exactly hold very many advantages right now," Naruto deadpanned.

Blinking, Anko looked down on herself, the kid had a point. At the moment, well, her hands were tied.

"Ah, touché. But you're going to have to let me go sooner or later, and when you do… Well, that'll be interesting now won't it?"

"What do you mean," Naruto asked warily.

"For instance," Anko said, a lazy smile starting to stretch across her face. "There's nothing stopping me from informing your academy teachers, or the Hokage about your true potential. Not to mention that I'm sure the Hyuuga clan will be very interested to know what, or who, happened last night."

Naruto's mind was racing. He knew that none of Anko's accusations would really stick with the Hyuuga clan, or with his academy teachers. But he wasn't too sure about what would happen if Anko informed old man Sarutobi. Naruto had been avoiding him ever since he came back. It was strange, most would have thought that Sarutobi would have been the first one that Naruto would have visited, but this was not the case. The old man had died a long time ago and although it took a while, Naruto had eventually made peace with that. But the Third Hokage had been like a grandfather to him, one of Naruto's most precious people. When he died, it was as if a piece of Naruto had died as well. But now, now that his 'grandfather' was alive again, Naruto was… scared. Scared to see him again, scared to know him again.

Then there was also the fact that the Third had known him for longer than anyone else, aside from maybe Teuchi and Ayame. He had also known him better than anyone else. Naruto was sure that he would be able to tell that he had changed, in the 'short' time that they hadn't been seeing each other. So, while Anko's plan wouldn't affect him in the short term, it would result in him being closely watched. And with all the things that he got up to, not to mention the places he went and the training he did, being watched would lead to a number of… awkward, questions.

"**HEY KIT, JUST REPEAT AFTER ME, I'VE GOT THIS ONE COVERED."**

Grasping at straws, Naruto unthinkingly repeated exactly what the fox said. Not the smartest idea he'd ever had.

"That may be true, Anko-san, but as you've said I've still got to let you go. But I don't really want you to find out where I hid you, so I'll probably have to knock you out before hand. Where you wake up all depends on you. For instance, you could wake up in your bed." Anko frowned at that. Opening her mouth to ask a question, she was interrupted before she could speak. "17 Hashirama road, apartment 203," Naruto continued, without even pausing to breath. Anko's mouth snapped shut with an audible click. That was her address. "Or," Naruto said, with no emotion at all in his voice. "You could wake up in an S & M outfit, tied up in the men's onsen." Naruto almost choked as he realized what he said.

'_ERO-KITSUNE!'_ he roared in his mind as both the demon fox and the death god rolled around on the floor, laughing their asses off. But none of them were at all prepared for what happened next. A slow smile spread across Anko's face.

"Wow," she said musingly. "_Kinky_, you're a little bit young to already be into that sot of stuff, but..." at this point, her grin grew feral. "Do your worst."

Naruto sweatdropped. That… was unexpected. Although, this was the crazy snake lady… Who now thought he was a pervert... Whose interest he had just succeeded in gaining. Who was looking at him as if she wasn't sure whether filleting or some other mentally scarring, trauma-causing way would be the best way of dealing with him… 'Oh Kami-sama. Help.'

Shinigami shrugged, before giving him a suggestion that had Naruto looking at him with something approaching worship.

Kyuubi just nodded. "**THAT'D DO IT."**

* * *

Marveling at his top of the range acting skills, Naruto looked appraisingly at Anko apparently thinking about it. "Alright," he said, which earned a shocked look from Anko before she quickly managed to school her features. "But that means that we're going to have to wait for about an hour." Anko blinked. She hadn't been expecting that.

"Oh? And why is that?" she asked, that feral grin growing wider on her face. Naruto shrugged, before a grin that matched, then exceeded her own in its savageness appeared on his face.

"Because, if I remember right, that's the time that an old man who recently came back to Konoha usually goes to the onsen."

Anko raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And pray tell me, who is this man?"

Naruto put his hand to his chin and a thoughtful expression on his face. "You know, I didn't really catch his name. But he's almost twice as tall as me, was wearing this weird outfit too. Oh yeah, now I remember, he had long spiky hair."

Anko started to sweat a little bit. It couldn't be… could it?

She cleared her throat nervously. "What color was this man's hair," she asked, trying desperately to keep her grin on her face.

"White."

Anko felt her smile slide off her face like so much mud. Naruto's next words sent all the blood rushing away from her face, leaving it as pale as her old mentor.

"He called himself the Toad Sage."

Naruto watched Anko with a slightly awed air to him, as the strong woman was reduced to a quivering mess. Even he would admit that this was fighting dirty in the extreme, but he would never have expected Anko to react this badly to the thinly veiled threat. How was he to know that Jiraiya had sworn revenge on Anko ever since she had stolen his telescope? A revenge which he had yet to collect on. Therefore, this reaction merely enforced his opinion that Ero-sennin really _was_ a Super Pervert of the highest order.

"Y-You wouldn't dare." Her face only held one expression now. Fear. Well, two. A little pinch of disgust was added to the mixture. The blonde's grin just got wider.

"Try me."

Anko seemed to deflate a little bit. "Alright, alright, I won't tell anyone about anything. Are you happy?"

Naruto grinned. "Very."

With a put on sigh, Anko shifted uncomfortably. "So, can you get me out of this now?"

Naruto frowned. "Excuse me a second, I'll need to think about it." As he finished talking, he walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. The room opened up to a familiar corridor, which meant that there was plenty of room for Naruto to do as planned. Sitting down, Naruto got into the lotus position and took a couple of deep breaths. Slowly, the real world faded and was blown away like mist as Naruto entered his mindscape.

* * *

When he came to, it was to see Shinigami and Kyuubi both sitting on the couch playing on something that the Death God called an 'X-box.' Naruto paled dramatically as he saw the fox seemingly free. "What the fuck is he doing out here?" Naruto screamed, slightly incoherent. Shinigami just waved over his shoulder at him.

"_Relax kid. Kyuubi is still caged, I just needed another person to play co-op with."_

Frowning, Naruto took a closer look at the fox. He quickly realized that the fox was not the one that had been the usual occurrence in his nightmares, which started three years ago. Or was it… eh, forget it. The dynamics of time travel were simply too confusing to think about for long periods of time. It gave you a headache that you would not believe possible. Instead, Kyuubi looked more like an anthro' a mix between both human and fox, with a lot more human detail on the hands, which enabled his erstwhile claws to handle the small buttons on his controller. Kyuubi was in the process of ignoring him. (**"DIE COVENANT SCUM!"**) Naruto sweat dropped. "So… what do you think I should do with Anko?"

Shinigami paused the game, to Kyuubi's whine of disappointment and turned to Naruto. _"Well, as long as you have her tied up, I think you should (Censored) (Censored) her (Censored) and (Censored) before you (__**CENSORED**__)."_

Naruto gagged a little bit, while trying to stop all of the blood from going to his head…s. "Come on dude! I'm only eleven years old! I'm too young for that kind of stuff!"

"_Well, technically speaking… you're actually almost seventeen years old… And you've never actually purposefully kissed a girl yet…"_

"**OW, LOW BLOW," **Kyuubi muttered, a small grin crossing his face.

A tick mark grew on Naruto's forehead. Two could play at that game.

"Hello Arlia, don't hurt him too bad."

Shinigami gave a yelp like a little girl, before looking wildly behind him, to see no one there. He glared at Naruto, his face dramatically pale.

"_Don't do that!" _Shinigami yelled at the boy and immortal Demon Lord, both of whom were killing themselves laughing.

"**KAMIS ABOVE! YOU ARE SO WHIPPED!"** Kyuubi chuckled.

"Alright," Naruto said, wiping a tear from his eye. "In all seriousness now, what do I do with the snake lady?"

Shinigami sighed. _"Look, at this point of time, she will become one of two things: ally or enemy. We can't afford to have her as an enemy, so you're going to have to make her an ally. That might mean showing her a couple of things that you may have preferred to keep hidden."_

Naruto sighed. "Alright, I get what you mean. See you boys soon." With that, he left his mindscape and returned to the real world.

* * *

It was a couple of minutes before Naruto returned to Anko, a peace offering held in his hands. Anko immediately started to have the same reaction as he normally did when confronted with a fresh bowl of ramen: she started drooling. 'DANGO!' she thought. Naruto looked at her. "Alright lady, stay still, I don't want to hurt you." Anko frowned at him, but nevertheless, she did not move, she just watched as the blonde flicked a wrist at her and suddenly, all her ropes were cut, leaving her completely unharmed. Her eyes widened. Such control over his element and at such a young age! It was almost unheard of! Slowly, Anko stood to her feet. "You did have something to do with the Hyuuga Clan. Didn't you?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "Most of the bastards can't show any emotion due to the pole stuck up their ass. They just needed to be taught a little lesson and I happen to be a good teacher when it comes to said lesson."

"And what lesson is that?" Anko asked, her voice tinged with curiosity.

Naruto grinned rabidly as he handed Anko the dango. "Humility."

It was not long after Anko had finished her dango that Naruto had lead her out of the room and towards the front entrance.

"So, Blondie," Anko said, picking her teeth with the pointed end of one of her dango sticks. "Where did you take me anyway?"

Naruto smirked. "My place," he said, throwing open the front door. Anko walked out, her hand shielding herself from the bright light that seemed to come from all around her. Blinking, she took in her surroundings. She was standing on a wide plateau, with a wide open plain surrounding her that was bordered by a small copse of trees. Anko knew this place. But it was impossible! If Naruto had been able to enter that building then it would make him. Spinning around wildly to confirm her suspicion, she was confronted by the smirking face of Naruto Uzumaki, framed by the backdrop of the village of Konoha from on top of the Hokage Monument. "Y-you! You, you're…" Anko stuttered.

Naruto swept himself into a deep bow, twirling an imaginary cloak as he did so. "Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto, at your service." Anko blinked, once, twice, looking at the son of the Fourth Hokage.

"Well fuck me."

Naruto smirked. "Tempting, but no."

* * *

A pair of burning grey eyes watched as the Hyuuga heiress walked throughout the clan compound.

"Oh yes, you may think that you're safe now. Thanks to that Yurei, everyone is treating you like a human being aren't they? But it won't last. No. It won't last. Yurei can't be everywhere. He can't know everything. Just you wait. Because I'll be waiting and when you least expect it… kukukukukuku."

* * *

Hinata was in a daze as she walked into her room. She didn't know what had happened, or how it had happened, but somehow, she was suspiciously certain that it had to do with Naruto. Walking into her room, she closed her door softly, before resting her forehead against it and closing her eyes. Things would be better now. They had to be. Turning around, Hinata gave a small jump at the figure that was lounging on her bed. "Who, who are you?" The figure, a woman of surpassing beauty gave Hinata a tender, motherly smile. But even so, there was an aura of power that seemed to surround her like a robe.

"Hello Hinata. I am someone who hopes to be your friend. At this point you could me… a spirit I suppose, as I am not up to my usual strength. But as to who I am… I am the Goddess of Love and Matrimony, wife of the Shinigami, Lord of the Dead and daughter to Kami, who doesn't really need any introduction. But you? You can call me Arlia."

Hinata nodded her head slowly. "Oh," she said. Hinata just looked her up and down.

"Would you like some tea?"

To be honest, after everything that had already happened to her today, this wasn't nearly as big a surprise as one might think.

* * *

AN:

Hope you liked it. Just a thought though, after finishing this chapter it occurred to me that this fic has somehow done a lot of growing while I wasn't looking. In other words, it's probably going to be a real long one. Hope you guys will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it. The poll is hereby closed and Arlia has been revealed to Hinata. I've decided against putting any more spoilers about what's going to happen in the next chapter in here. Frankly, it seems as if I don't really know what's going to happen in the chapter until after I've written it!

So. Read. Enjoy. Review. Not necessarily in that order.

P.S. I've made a couple of changes to the first couple of chapters that might answer at least one question which I did not fully explain.


	12. The History of the Uzumaki

AN Well everybody, it took a while, but I've finally got another chapter up and running. First of all, I'd like to say a big thanks to hinatasgreatestfan, who acted as beta reader for this chapter. He's really good at what he does. Sorry about the wait, but most of the time, when I write, I pull stuff out from I don't know where. Take this chapter for example. The original plan had nothing in it about the Uzumaki clan. Yeah, I pulled it out of my ass as I wrote. But you could say that lately I've been…constipated. And lazy. Don't forget lazy. Now, I'm not going to bother putting in a disclaimer saying I don't own Naruto because you should know that already.

Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 11

The History of the Uzumaki

* * *

"_Well kid, congratulations, it has been a grand total of three days since you told Anko-chan that you are a Namikaze, the son of the Fourth. Despite that, no one from Iwa, or any of your father's other enemies, have come and tried to convince your head to depart your body by the means of various pointy and/or sharp objects."_

"Yay!" Naruto cheered.

Kyuubi snorted. **"I KNOW THAT THIS TIME AROUND YOU WANT TO DO IT AS A NAMIKAZE, BUT WHY DID YOU HAVE TO TELL THAT SNAKE WOMAN FIRST?"**

"I wasn't really intending to," Naruto said. "But she was starting to get real suspicious about me and my capabilities."

"_Which is your own fault. Whatever happened to 'keeping a low profile'?" _Shinigami asked sarcastically.

"HEY! That's not my fault! Believe –"

"_**Finish that sentence,"**_ Shinigami interrupted, his voice and aura suddenly demonically cold. _**"I dare you!"**_

Naruto swallowed. He really needed to get that verbal tic out of his system. "Anyway…it wasn't my fault that the Hyuuga clan treated Hinata so badly! And you didn't say anything against me giving them that lesson at the time."

"**TO BE HONEST, I'M STILL A LITTLE BIT SURPRISED THAT YOU DIDN'T BREAK DOWN THEIR FRONT DOOR, TRY TO TALK THE LOT OF THEM TO DEATH BEFORE SHOVING A RASENGAN IN THEIR FACE," **Kyuubi mused.

"_It does show that he has gone through a lot of growth," _Shinigami agreed.

"See!" Naruto said triumphantly. "Low profile!"

"_Apart from the fact that you pretty much told Anko that you were going to do something to the Hyuuga before you actually went about doing it. Then you fought a taijutsu battle far beyond your supposed abilities, knocked a jonin unconscious, tied her up and threatened to leave her naked in Jiraiya's company!" _Naruto snickered, along with the Kyuubi. Both of them had spent too long in the company of Ero-sennin to do anything else.

"_Besides that, with the amount of clues that you gave before you left, I would not be surprised if Kurenai figured it out as well."_

Naruto sagged.

Shinigami grinned at him. _"Still, unlike Anko, Kurenai probably just thinks that you know some very dangerous people, rather than even supposing that you did the job yourself. That could work to our advantage. It does mean however, that Yurei will have to make an appearance before the Hokage. You can bet your ass that he'll be told of this."_

"**WHICH LEAVES MY FIRST QUESTION STILL UNANSWERED," **Kyuubi said irritably. **"WHY DID YOU TELL ANKO-CHAN THAT YOU ARE A NAMIKAZE?"**

Naruto shrugged. "It seemed like the only course of action that I could take. She already knew that I had torn the Hyuuga clan a new one. A normal academy student would have found that impossible, which meant that I had to be an abnormal academy student. The only ones that could possibly pull something like that off would be either a genius, or a spy. It seems to me that having one of the top interrogators for Konoha's TI department suspecting you of being a spy is a very bad thing."

"_A very bad thing indeed," _Shinigami stated drily.

Naruto nodded. "Especially when said interrogator is Anko Mitarashi. I just showed her that I had the potential to do some major damage. Although, I thought that she would have been more impressed at who my dad was rather than my mother…"

* * *

_Flashback_

Naruto found himself quickly pinned to the side of the cottage by a large amount of kunai as soon as he told Anko of his heritage.

"_Gah!" _he gurgled.

"Alright, Blondie, I'll believe that you are the Fourth's kid. Kind of hard not to. But who was your mother?"

Naruto glared at her. "I don't know!" he snapped, still slightly angered by this fact. "I know that her last name was Uzumaki. I know that she had red hair and I know what her face looks like."

Anko gained a strange look on her face. "Do you have a picture?" she asked, slowly.

Naruto nodded and moved his hand over to one of the many pockets of his jumpsuit, withdrawing his favorite picture of his mother and father. It was a picture of the two of them at the hospital. His mother was lying down on the bed with the blankets all bunched up at her knees, wearing a light hospital gown. A fiercely proud, warm, maternal smile adorned her face and her hands were both occupied. One hand was holding the tanned hand of the blond man standing next to her. The other hand was cradling her belly protectively. His father, on the other hand, was wearing the Hokage robes complete with a jonin flak vest. He was holding his wife and future mother of his child's hand tightly, with a slightly poleaxed look in his eyes. But he did not even try to hide the wide, dopy grin that threatened to split his face in two. A note was written on the back of the photo. It said: "The soon to be parents!" Both Naruto's mom and his dad looked so very happy at the news that they would be bringing a child into the world. Naruto kept this photo in his left breast pocket. It was stupid, illogical and sentimental and Naruto had berated himself about this many times. It was just that, having the photo with him, so close to his heart, it made him feel in some way connected to the parents he never knew. It kept them… close.

Naruto kept a tight grip on the photo, careful not to crinkle it and showed it to Anko. He had thought that he would be prepared for any reaction. He was wrong.

"SQQUUEEEEE!" Anko exclaimed in the agreed upon fangirl manner, before glomping on Naruto with extreme prejudice, tearing his jumpsuit where it was pinned to the wall by the kunai.

"GERROFF OF ME YOU CRAZY BITCH!" Naruto yelled, frantically performing a substitution jutsu and climbing the closest tree.

* * *

Somewhere, far below them in the village, Sakura, Ino and a host of others of the…'gentler' persuasion sneezed in unison, alerting the boy they were stalking to their presence. Sasuke immediately bolted down the street, for some reason feeling that he wasn't quite as alone as he once thought.

* * *

Back with the crazy pair atop the mountain, Naruto found himself tied up in a rather large snake, being threatened with a rusty kunai by said snake's summoner. "If you ever tell anyone about what happened just now, you will wake up in the morning minus your balls. Are we clear?" Anko said, both calmly and seriously.

Naruto however, was far from calm. "ARE YOU SHITTING ME? WHAT THE FUCKING HELL WOMAN? ARE YOU BLOODY BIPOLAR OR SOMETHING?"

Anko smiled. "Nope just got my reputation to consider. Are we clear?"

Naruto eyed the kunai nervously; absentmindedly wondering why Anko would carry around such badly maintained equipment. Maybe these kinds of situations were more common for her than he would like to think about? 'Hehe, no reason to find out…'

"Crystal."

"Good," Anko said, releasing him from his scaly bonds. "It's just, your mother is like my idol. She was the last of-"

"Her name," Naruto interrupted.

Anko blinked. "What?"

"Tell me my mother's name," Naruto said. "Please," the ache in his voice was almost enough to bring even Anko to tears.

Sighing, Anko sat down, wondering what it was about today that she was doing so much of all this emotional talking stuff to preteens. "Your mom's name was Kushina Uzumaki."

"Kushina Uzu-Uzumaki?"

"Yeah kid, you've got your mother's last name. Don't know why nobody ever thought that you were her child, you act a lot alike."

"Could you, could you tell me about her?" Naruto asked timidly.

Anko sighed. "Not sure how much of that I could do. I was real young back then. But I can tell you a couple of things."

Naruto nodded. "Please," he said, the longing so very pronounced. He was just a child, Anko realized then and there. A child who had been hurting for so long, wondering, questioning, desperate to know something about his origin, just one small thing about his parents. One small thing about who he really was, where he came from. And now, he was asking her to be the one to try and fill the void that lay deep within his soul. Anko gulped. No pressure then.

* * *

"Kushina Uzumaki was the heir of the Whirlpool village, she came to the village when she was still a young girl and went through the academy with all the other students. She quickly established herself as a force to be reckoned with when a bunch of bullies decided to pick on her. They never did it again. When she was still young, the village of Kumo kidnapped her. I don't know why though, but I did hear rumors of some 'special chakra'." At this, Anko used her fingers to indicate the quotation marks. "It was your dad who actually rescued her. The two of them started hanging around a lot after that. Unfortunately, shortly after that came the destruction of Uzushiogakure." Anko sighed as she sat down on the ground and entered lecturing mode. For one crazy moment, she reminded Naruto of Iruka.

"The Whirlpool village was much smaller than most of the great villages, but the quality of its shinobi was unreal. A whole confederacy of villages acted in concert to destroy it before they got too powerful. The odds were more than thirty to one. Despite that, the whirlpool ninja, spearheaded by the Uzumaki clan; yes, your mother's clan," Anko said, noticing Naruto's rather stunned expression, "they managed to catch wind of the upcoming attack and went out into the field, outside of the safety and defenses of the walls of their village to meet the alliance in the field for battle. They did this in order to give the civilians, the women and children time to escape."

"Did they?" Naruto asked.

Anko smiled ruthlessly. "That they did. The army of the Uzumaki had been sitting there at the battlefield for a full day, seemingly waiting for their deaths. The Alliance underestimated them. Despite it being the reason for them banding together against the Whirlpool village, they forgot about one very important thing. Fuinjutsu. The Uzumaki clan were unsurpassed masters of fuinjutsu. And the Uzumaki had had a full day to set the field of battle. Normally, it would take weeks to properly set the traps needed to make a difference. But the Uzumaki had their families behind them; they had their people behind them. And they did not have weeks. In a single day, they created what is acknowledged to be the best barrier seals ever seen. The entire army of the Confederacy was sealed in a barrier that was twenty kilometers in diameter. There was only one exit, a long, narrow channel that led to the outside world. Standing in this channel, roaring their defiance in the teeth of the enemy, were the Shinobi of Uzushio. With the terrain on their side, they made a real fight of it, despite the huge numbers set against them. At the end of the first day the losses amongst the Confederacy were staggering. And yet, they could afford them, or thought they could. Day and night, day and night, the attacks never stopped. Never were the shinobi of Uzushio given a chance to rest. So, the second day passed. And the third. By now, Uzushio's forces were starting to drop like flies, unable to fight against exhaustion any longer, relying on nothing but taijutsu and kenjutsu against the overwhelming forces that were set against them. By the end of the third day, all of the once proud army of the village Hidden in the Whirlpools had been defeated, killed to the last man, for they would not surrender, and death was better than capture." Naruto's shoulders drooped and he gave a heavy sigh. Anko smirked. "All, but the ruling clan of the Whirlpool. All, but the clan of the Uzumaki." Naruto lifted his eyes, a look of wonder deep within.

* * *

"One hundred and twelve ninja, the pride of the Uzumaki, were left to fight the thousands that were arrayed against them. Inspired by their bravery, their endurance, the generals of the Confederacy offered them terms for surrender. But if they accepted, then the ninja before them would quickly catch up with the civilians that they had sworn to protect. They had sworn an oath. They had given their word. And the Uzumaki never go back on their word. They declined, in no uncertain terms, all forms of surrender. Besides, they still had some fight left in them. The Confederacy underestimated just how much fight they had. Iwa claimed the honor of slaughtering the arrogant clan. The Terra Team was sent against the Uzumaki. The elite of the Iwa shinobi, the Terra Team was known to have such a connection with the earth that the four hundred shinobi had the reputation of being able to bury an entire village the size of Konoha in half an hour. The Uzumaki slaughtered every one them, in ten minutes. They were fighting on a whole different level than before now. The why of it was simple. They no longer had any ordinary ninja in their forces to hold them back. Before, they had to limit themselves so that they would not kill their own allies. Now, they could go all out."

"Kumo's BOLT was the next to fall, two hundred and fifty of Kumo's top lightning and kenjutsu specialists. Disdaining jutsu, the Uzumaki rushed to meet them. And meet them they did, fighting blade to blade. It was not a fight. It was a massacre. The Uzumaki had better swords, better techniques, better skills, better speed, better men, better experience and a better purpose. The only advantage that Kumo had was their better numbers. It wasn't even a contest. Blades flashed in the sun as BOLT fell to the earth, broken against the might of the Uzumaki. The mouths of the generals became dry with fear as they realized just what they were facing. Most of BOLT were A-ranked shinobi, with a sprinkling of B-ranked to make up the numbers. They had not killed a single Uzumaki in their assault. Which meant that they needed to kill a total of one hundred and twelve shinobi, all of which were apparently borderline S-ranked or higher. Many of them cursed the fact that the clan in front of them had not surrendered. So, the generals of an army that numbered in the thousands, made up of shinobi from Cloud, Mist, and numerous other smaller villages, one of the greatest armies that had ever been assembled in the world, capable of altering the face of the earth itself…called for reinforcements.

"But reinforcements were a luxury that the Uzumaki did not possess. But they did not care. They had prepared their whole lives for this day to come, and for the Uzumaki, that was a very long time. Those of the Uzumaki clan are said to have incredibly long lives and they had more experience, more training than any of those against them."

"_True enough. If I remember right, some of those who died in this battle were well over two hundred years old."_

"**SHH! I'M LISTENING TO THE STORY!"**

"They had been unable to send any messages out to their allies, the Confederacy had made sure of that. They were going to die. They knew this. They accepted this. But they sure as hell weren't going to go down without a fight." Anko finished with a wolfish grin.

* * *

"After the next attack, the enemy was finally able to bring back information to their leaders. Each and every single Uzumaki was covered in seals; seals that rendered their ninjutsu almost useless. Wind jutsu turned into a gentle breeze. Lightning would just be grounded, leaving them unharmed. They walked through fire without getting burned. Most earth jutsu were useless, because they had covered the ground with seals, which prevented chakra from entering the earth beneath them. And the Uzumaki were masters of water jutsu. Not only that, but the armor that they wore somehow lessened the amount of damage that was taken when they were hit. Every advantage lay with the red-headed clan as they stalled for time.

"Wave, upon wave of shinobi was sent against the Uzumaki. Wave upon wave broke upon them like water against a rock. But, with each wave, a little was worn away. The fourth day passed. And the fifth. And the sixth. The reinforcements had arrived, finding that the barrier could be entered, but not exited. And still, the Uzumaki fought, with blade, fist, seal and jutsu. The commanders of the Confederacy looked on in wonder that these men and women had fought almost without any rest for six days now. Despite all their efforts, this one clan still fought against them. This was the legendary stamina and endurance of the Uzumaki. Kushina later told us the reason for it. Every child of the Uzumaki clan is given a seal at birth. This seal takes five percent of an Uzumaki's daily chakra supply every single day of their life. It is even possible to voluntarily add to that chakra store. It was to be used only in times of the greatest need. This qualified.

"Many had fallen facing that clan, with little to show for it. It is said that the Uzumaki must have had some of the greatest medics in the world within their ranks, because injuries had been dealt to many Uzumaki time and time again that would have proven fatal to an ordinary man without the best of care."

"_The Uzumaki healing factor. We both know that it can be sped up with the application of chakra. And some of those older Uzumaki's may have been storing chakra for over a hundred years."_

"Their armor of metal and fuinjutsu was the only thing that kept them alive for so long and with each jutsu stopped, with each blow turned aside, chakra was used to save them. But if their chakra failed, then they were quickly overcome. They had no time to eat, no time to sleep. Chakra was burnt to create the energy needed to fight. Lack of sleep began taking its toll, making the Uzumaki sloppy. Fifty two fighters were left to carry on.

"The seventh day passed. Still, they held firm, swaying on their feet even as they continued spilling the blood of those who charged against them. More terms for surrender had been offered. All had been refused. By now, some of the Confederacy were beginning to wonder whether they should be the ones to surrender. The eighth day passed.

"There was a lull in battle on the morning of the ninth day, as the sun rose above the horizon, bathing all beneath it in scarlet hues. Only twenty of the once proud clan were left. They were all that remained alive. Every one of them was covered head to toe in red. They had shed so much blood that, by now, it seemed as if they had bathed in it. Each of them knew that this would be their last day on this earth. And yet, they had no regrets. They had done what they had promised to do. It was an eight-day journey for the slowest of civilians to reach a point where they could not be caught before reaching safety, even if they were followed by the swiftest of enemy shinobi. They looked at the piles of bodies that surrounded them, both of opponent and ally, but far outnumbering the allies was the enemy. They looked at the faces of those who were left of their clan, of their family. Brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, cousins, nephews, nieces and grandparents: that was what they were to each other. And yet, they were also comrades. They had bonded on such a deep level over the years, trusting each other to the utmost on the battlefield and the last week had forged those bonds anew, stronger than ever before. One of them began to laugh, then another, then another. Soon, all of them were laughing, as the light of the red dawn crossed their features. The sound of their laughter reached those who stood at the other end, waiting to enter the battle against the red-haired demons. They shivered at the sound. No longer were they eager to face them to avenge their comrades. All of them simply prayed that they would not be the next ones chosen to face them. But this time, none would have a choice. Still laughing, the last of the Uzumaki charged the enemy. No longer protected by the barrier that had forced the Confederacy to fight them on more equal ground, it was suicide. The Uzumaki knew this. Casting their laughter into the teeth of Shinigami, they charged at the impossible numbers before them, blades leading the way. And at their head, was Uzumaki Isamu, leader of Uzushiogakure, clan head of the Uzumaki and father of Uzumaki Kushina.

"Still laughing, they crashed through the front lines of the totally dumbfounded Confederacy, driving deep into the enemy ranks. It is said that they fought as one man, a perfect fighting force, seemingly able to read each other's minds as they acted in concert. They had used the last ace of the Uzumaki clan, a jutsu that was known only to the clan head and sacrificed all the long years left ahead of them for one last huge chakra boost. Hey, it wasn't as if they were going to use them anyway."

"They battled deep into the heart of the enemy, laughing all the way. They had done it! They had succeeded in what they set out to do and there was no better company to face the Shinigami with than the ones that they fought with side by side. But they would not be the only ones."

"When they reached the heart of the camp, they activated the last seal that they had prepared before the army arrived. Had it been just nine days ago? It seemed so much longer than that. Chains sprung from the earth. Many, many chains made from golden light, surrounding the Uzumaki in a protective dome. Jutsu upon jutsu upon jutsu was thrown against those chains, yet they held firm."

"One by one, the Uzumaki looked at each other's faces, not wanting the last sight that they saw to be the ones who wanted their destruction. They were secure in the love that they had found within each other. Smiling at one another, they took each other by the hand, creating a different sort of chain, a human one. With eyes closed, they formed a circle, just behind the barrier, their backs towards those longing for their death. There was only one who did not hold hands with the others, for his hands were needed."

"Uzumaki Isamu stood at the joining of the chain feeling the hands of his clan-mates clasping against his shoulders. 'What is the secret of a chain?' he asked.

'It breaks at the weakest link,' his clan answered.

'Who are we?'

'We are the links of the Uzumaki Clan, the Uzumaki chain.'

'Aye,' he said proudly. 'We are the Uzumaki and our chains can hold Kyuubi himself. Remember this. Remember us.'

"The remaining chakra of all that was left of the Uzumaki who fought in Battle of the Laughing Scarlet Warriors was given to Isamu as he performed his final technique. It is said that there was enough chakra used to rival that of the bijuu themselves. But this was the first that Konoha was aware of the battle as a pillar of white light reached the very heavens, scorching the sky and leaving the symbol of the Uzumaki clan in the form of a cloud that lasted for three days: the funeral pyre of the Uzumaki. This was the beginning of the Third Shinobi World War. And during the chaos that followed, the Uzumaki clan faded from memory as day-to-day life became a struggle to survive. Despite this, Konoha changed the white swirl of the Uzumaki that they wore on their Chuunin vests to red in memory of their sacrifice. And although Konoha won the war, there are many who say that if it were not for the Uzumaki, then the outcome would have been very different."

* * *

"Your Mother changed after that day. She held on to her friends with everything she had, the last link of the chain. But on the battlefield, she was a sight to behold. Completely merciless against those who had slaughtered her family, a new name was whispered amongst the enemy. When she was young, she had earned the nickname of "Red Hot Habanero." She was still known as that amongst her friends. But now, those who faced her knew her as "the Last Scarlet Warrior." She hated that nickname. It reminded her of what she had lost. But despite this, Kushina grew to have a kill count that was exceeding by only one other person: Minato Namikaze. She was one of the greatest kunoichi who ever lived and died facing the Kyuubi. That seal on your navel? That's not just your dad's work kid. Your mom had a hand in making that herself. She was my idol, last of a mighty clan and if I ever become half the woman she was, then I shall be content."

_Flashback end (DAMN IT WAS A LONG ONE!)_

* * *

"_You never knew that your family were so badass did you?" _Shinigami asked.

Naruto shook his head. "No, I honestly had no idea. I've got a lot to live up to don't I?"

"**YOU COULD SAY THAT. IT WAS A RATHER INTERESTING TALE."  
**

"Yeah, now admit it, it was worth talking to Anko just for that."

"_Alright, so it wasn't completely unprofitable."_

"Not to mention that if I hadn't talked to her, we wouldn't even be here right now."

"_I'm still not entirely sure that that is a good thing."_

Naruto frowned as he took in his surroundings. He was sitting at the edge of a clearing on a large submerged granite boulder. Circling the clearing was a number of trees that had obviously been put on steroids as well as fertilizer. Dotted around here and there was the occasional deadly plant and the center of the clearing was made up of heavily churned up earth.

"Look, we needed a place undisturbed to train. How many hours of training have I lost because someone decides that the field I'm using would be a good place for them to get some exercise in?"

"_A couple hundred thousand."_

Naruto blinked. He hadn't expected it to be quite so much.

"All of that and I've only learned three new jutsu?" he asked incredulously.

Shinigami snorted.

"_You can do a rasengan in each hand at the same time while water walking with one and a half seconds to make them. We've built up your Fuuton Rasengan so that you can do it with one hand. And you said that that would be impossible. You've also got both the kazeken and the kazebo down to a degree that you can fire them in a punch, a kick or a wave of your hand, multiple times in a row. Your wind streaming on weapons has reached a state where you can do it almost unconsciously and extend it to laughable levels when you use your mom's katana. Then there's that Wind Style: Void that you picked up from your dad's place. You still don't understand how useful that's going to be. You've got several other wind jutsu halfway mastered, you've been working on five different henge, your chakra control is better than it has ever been and you've halfway mastered about seven other different jutsu, including the kage kunai no jutsu. Which you started yesterday." _By the time that Shinigami had finished his rant, his eye was twitching in a most disturbing manner.

"**NOT TO MENTION THAT HE'S ALSO STARTED WORK ON HIS OWN FUINJUTSU AND HIS TAIJUTSU IS BETTER THAN IT HAS EVER BEEN,"** Kyuubi added helpfully. He dropped his ears in a doleful expression as he placed his head between his paws. **"SIGH. I HATE SEALS."**

"Yeah but," a loud, ferocious roar, full of hate and bloodlust permeated the area. "SHUT UP YOU!" Naruto yelled, leaking a small amount of killer intent. The roar cut off as if by a knife. Naruto nodded in a self satisfied manner. "I'm still not as powerful as when I had sage mode under my command. And I need to get as much training in as possible. I have a lot of work ahead of me."

"_You'd get a lot more done if you spent less time with the Hyuuga chick." _Shinigami took note of the furious expression on Naruto's face, which slowly morphed into a sadistic smile. _"And don't even think about telling my wife that I said that." _Naruto chuckled evilly.

"_Anyway… WILL YOU STOP THAT?"_

"…"

"_It's almost time to introduce Yurei to the Old Man, I'd give it, maybe three days?"_

"Yay!" Naruto exclaimed, wiggling in excitement. The 'seat' that he was leaning against growled warningly. Without bothering to turn around, Naruto drove a sharply pointed elbow, his other hand supporting it, behind him. A loud 'oof!' of air being driven from a large set of lungs came from the gargantuan white tiger that Naruto had been using as a headrest.

"_Are you going to let that thing go any time soon?"_

Naruto frowned, absentmindedly rubbing his hand against the soft fur of the heavily restrained feline. _'Soft.'_

"Probably."

The tiger had given up struggling a while ago, finally giving in to the fact that it could not escape under its own power. Naruto had once again been a little bit… excessive. Each limb had been tied down, with the supports driven into the sun-warmed granite beneath them. Long, steel staples had also been driven into the stone over the cat's limbs, although not deep enough to pinch. Finally, one last rope was tied to each paw, every other end embedded in its own two ton boulder. It should be noted that the tail was treated the same way as every other limb. The tiger also wore a large leather belt around its middle, which had been bolted to the floor. More rope tied to the belt and around the cat itself connected it to a final, ten-ton boulder. It lay spreadeagled against the ground with Naruto sitting between its left front and back legs.

"**YOU SURE THAT THAT'S NOT JUST A LITTLE BIT TOO EXCESSIVE?"** Kyuubi asked, feeling a small shred of pity for the imprisoned beast.

Naruto cocked his head at the fox. "He reminds me of Tora," the blond deadpanned.

Kyuubi blinked. **"ARE YOU SURE THAT YOU'VE DONE ENOUGH?" **he asked. Oh yes, Kyuubi knew of that particular feline.

Naruto shrugged. "No idea." It was rumored by the Genin who were sent to capture the demon neko of the fire daimyo's wife that Tora had already escaped from this exact setup before, albeit scaled down. Naruto had personally witnessed the cat escape from her owner's arms before, so it wasn't beyond the boundaries of possibility.

"_Come on. Let it go," _Shinigami spoke in a gentle voice.

Naruto pouted. "It tore my jumpsuit," he said, flinging his head back against the cat's side. Even lying pinned to the ground, its shoulder was still above Naruto's head. When he was sitting next to it

"_And your skin, your fat layer and numerous muscles."_

Naruto waved the details away. "Never mind that! Look at this jumpsuit! It'd take forever to get all the bloodstains out and just as long to repair the slashes in it! It's ruined I tell you! Ruined!"

"**SO WE SHOULD GIVE THE KITTY A PRIZE. BIG DEAL. CAN WE GO NOW?"**

Naruto glared ferociously into space. It was a good glare, worthy of mention. For a moment, he weighed up going to his 'happy place' just so that Kyuubi could see that glare.

"_Remind me why you didn't just kill it in the first place?" _Shinigami asked.

Naruto sighed. "Anko-san said that they were endangered and that the Forest of Death is kind of like a reserve for them."

Shinigami shrugged. _"Serves you right. You should have been paying more attention. If you had, then you wouldn't have been ambushed in the first place."_

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Naruto muttered mulishly. "Kage bunshin no jutsu!"

Several thousand clones appeared in the surrounding area. Not one puff of smoke betrayed their creation. Naruto could have sworn that the cat stilled in shock, if only for a moment. "Atteeeeen-HUT!"

A loud sound reminiscent to a sharp crack of thunder resounded as, as one, every single clone stood to attention. "Aaaaaat-EASE!" The clones complied.

"Alright boys! You know what to do!"

"SIR! YES SIR!"

Naruto nodded his head, satisfied. "Carry on!"

It had taken a lot of work to get his clones to act more like soldiers and less like idiots, but Naruto had managed. He had started attempting it after hearing a number of stories from Shinigami about ancient, dead civilizations that came from all over the world. He particularly liked the stories about a place called Sparta. Those dudes sounded like a real bunch of hard asses. A lot of Naruto's highly refined brawling skills came from fighting techniques used in Sparta. While not as fluid as a normal taijutsu kata, it had a couple of distinct advantages. It was ruthless, dirty, quick and had never before been seen in the elemental nations. Spartans fought one way and one way alone. To win. That was something that Naruto could get behind. Frankly, when it came to protecting his precious people, there were very few boundaries that he placed on himself. Nut shots and broken bones were not one of those boundaries.

* * *

"_You're going to be late for the academy," _Shinigami stated, his voice sounding bored.

Naruto grinned. "No I'm not." He clapped his hands together in a familiar sign.

"Henge." A burst of smoke surrounded him and when it dissipated, a magnificent peregrine falcon stood on the ground. With imperious eyes he surveyed the scene before launching off of the ground. But after gaining the initial momentum, Naruto soon dipped back down, creating a crash course with the ground.

"_FLAP YOU STUPID BIRD! FLAP!"_

And flap he did, narrowly avoiding becoming a pancake on the ground only to crash into a tree.

"**WELL. THAT WAS ANTICLIMATIC," **Kyuubi stated.

Naruto put his head down, ruffling his feathers before shaking his head, trying to get rid of his sudden headache. It didn't work.

"So I haven't had much practice flying before. Don't judge me."

"_**TOO LATE," **_the two immortal beings chorused.

Swearing to himself, Naruto launched himself from the ground once more and headed towards academy. As he did so, Shinigami wondered whether or not he should remind Naruto of all the rather dangerous animals that inhabited the Forest of Death. The very large, very hungry, dangerous animals. Then again, he had just left one tied in a field… Oh well, he'd probably remember very soon.

* * *

Naruto had made it to the academy on time, garnering a rather reasonable hatred of spiders along the way. Especially large spiders. Especially large spiders who built almost invisible webs with their deceptively thin looking silk and had so many big hungry eyes with mandibles dripping with poison as they moved towards you clicking in anticipation with their eight hairy legs motoring their fat segmented body which contained an empty stomach soon to be filled with the flesh and blood of a poor innocent blond boy who had a pair of powerful, immortal beings sealed in his gut, neither of whom warned said boy that when transformed into a much smaller creature, a peregrine falcon for instance, who did not have the best ability when it came to mobility, aka flying, in a forest filled to the fences with hungry, ridiculously oversized predators, like aforementioned big, hairy, hungry, detestable spider, that a good first step would be to gain a little bit of _height_. Bastards.

All that he had to do now was try not to fall asleep during this rather boring lecture that Iruka-sensei was doing on the uniform and armor of the shinobi. Wait. This could be interesting.

"Iruka-sensei?" Naruto said with his hand in the air.

"Yes, Naruto?" Iruka acknowledged. He had been talking about the Cunin vest at the time and was quite surprised. Naruto did not usually voluntarily ask a question. He supposed it was because his questions usually had him being laughed at by the rest of the class, something that, although it gave him some of the attention that he had so desperately coveted, he did not really particularly enjoy.

"Why do the chuunin and jonin of Konoha wear that red swirl on the backs of their Chuunin vests? It's not something that any of the other villages have, do they?"

Iruka blinked. This was not something that was in the curriculum, for the reason that no one thought it necessary. It was the responsibility of the parents and elders to explain the great significance that these swirls had to their children. Seeing the confused faces of the students around him, Iruka realized that the parents had been neglectful in their responsibilities.

"Does anyone know why it is that Konoha wears this symbol?" To no-one's surprise, Sakura put up her hand.

"Yes?"

"It is to symbolise the respect that Konoha had for a great clan that was instrumental in the founding of this village," she stated, her voice breathless.

Iruka nodded his head. "Good! And what was the name of that clan?"

Sakura shrugged. "I don't know. Not that it matters. The clan is extinct anyway."

"No, it's not." The entire class turned to Naruto at the dangerous sound in his voice. "Not yet, anyway." A dark expression covered his face.

Iruka raised his eyebrows. Naruto knew. He wasn't sure how, as he did not know many people who would have actually told him the story of his family. Maybe the Third Hokage?

Iruka decided to deviate from the planned schedule. He enjoyed teaching about Konoha's history and it was important that the kids learn about this particular clan.

"What Naruto says is correct, they are not completely extinct. He would know after all, as the spiral is the symbol of the Uzumaki Clan." A loud exclamation of surprise came from the class. "Impossible! There's no way that that dobe could be a member of a clan!" Ino shouted disparagingly.

Naruto glared at her. "I'm the last member of my clan! So shut your mouth!" his voice dark. Cold. Sasuke, however, raised his head towards Naruto. The two of them had something in common.

"Huh, it was probably some pathetic clan that Konoha pitied back in the day," Kiba laughed disparagingly.

"ENOUGH!" Everyone save Naruto jumped from their seats as Iruka used his demon head jutsu, the next step up from his patented big head jutsu. Naruto, in the meantime, was too busy trying to bury the urge to leap across the table and start strangling the mutt boy. He knew that Kiba only did it to fit in with the rest of the class. He could respect that, as he had done the same thing himself for many years. But he had crossed a line.

"They were not, as you put it Kiba, 'some pathetic clan.' They were the Uzumaki clan. The Uzumaki were one of the first clans in the shinobi world to form a hidden village. Descended from the Uzumaki clan are the Senju, one of the founding clans of Konoha.

* * *

"It was the Uzumaki that Konoha asked for advice when Konoha was formed. When Uchiha Madara fought against Hashirama Senju with Kyuubi as his ally, only one person stood by the first Hokage's side. His wife, Uzumaki Mito. While Hashirama fought Madara, an Uzumaki did what eleven years ago hundreds of Konoha shinobi were unable to do. She stopped Kyuubi no Yoko cold. The Uzumaki clan were unsurpassed masters of fuinjutsu and the quality of their shinobi was rarely equaled. It is Uzumaki seals that create the barriers used to defend Konoha. It's not just the swirl on the back of our Chuunin vests that we use to honor the Uzumaki. The swirl in the center of Konoha's leaf symbol is the Uzumaki swirl. In the second shinobi world war, there was a time when Kumo and Iwa managed to send a force of shinobi around our defenses in a flanking maneuver. Konoha was almost completely undefended and would have been wiped out by the overwhelming numbers that were sent against it. None of our army was able to reach home in time they were pinned down by the enemy anyway. But the village of Konoha was allied to Uzushiogakure, the Whirlpool village and the rulers of the Whirlpool village was the Uzumaki clan.

"Leaving their own village unguarded, the Uzumaki ran to our aid. They needed to cross the entire breadth of the Land of Fire; they would never make it in time. Yet still, they came. The Uzumaki protect their friends with their lives and we were counted among their friends. They ran for two days straight before they received terrible news. Konoha was not the only village that was being attacked. In three days time, the Whirlpool village, the undefended Whirlpool village, would also be placed under siege." Iruka stopped for a moment to take a breath.

"What happened? Did they turn around?" Choji asked. His lazy friend nodded, emphasizing the question. Even he was wide-awake for this story.

Iruka smiled. "We all thought they would and besides, it was still a two day journey to Konoha and Konoha would be attacked in a single day. The next day, Konoha was struggling to repel the invaders from the walls, nearly being broken through. All of a sudden, there was a mighty crash as the Uzumaki clan hit the enemy from behind. Caught between the hammer of the Uzumaki and the anvil of Konoha's walls, they were quickly defeated. The Uzumaki had crossed the entire breadth of the Land of Fire in three days and fought a battle, won a battle, at the end of it.

"But they had no time to rest. Not a single Uzumaki even entered the village. As the last man was slain, they turned around and began to run once more. They had made the decision to save us, but at the inevitable sacrifice of their own village. Such was the loyalty of the Uzumaki." Kiba felt shame to his very bones at this. The Inuzuka valued loyalty above everything else. Nothing meant more to them than their pack. And they valued loyalty in others as well. And he had called this clan pathetic.

"People said that it was impossible," Iruka continued. "People said that it could never be done, that they should give up. But this was their home and it had been their home for generations. Never stopping to rest, to eat, to drink or even to clean the blood of their enemies from their bodies, the Uzumaki ran home. And two days later, when the enemy shinobi came to besiege Uzushiogakure, the Uzumaki clan were there. And they were ready. The battle was joined and the Uzumaki emerged triumphant once again. Such was the legendary endurance of the Uzumaki. They risked everything to help us, even the lives of their own families, the lives of their children. They did not even stop to recover the bodies of their brothers and sisters who fell defending Konoha. That is why we wear the symbol of Uzumaki on our Chuunin vests."

* * *

Silence pervaded the class. Naruto admired his mother's clan all the more. It was a crazy, stupid, illogical thing that his clan had done and he was proud of them for it. But there was one more thing.

"But Iruka-sensei, the symbol of Uzumaki is white," he said, indicating the spiral clan symbol on his shoulder. He could feel the eyes of everyone drawn to it. Sasuke's eyes, along with many of the other's, widened. They had just thought that the symbol was a pretty decoration that Naruto had worn for fun. They had never dreamed that it was a clan symbol.

"Why is it that the ninja of Konoha wear a red symbol?" Naruto asked. Iruka sighed before he went in to the battle of Laughing Scarlet Warriors. All in all, Naruto thought that Anko had told the story better, but he learned a couple of interesting things. One was that, despite Mist being a part of those who fought against the Uzumaki, the Seven Swordsmen were not a part of that army. Going directly against the orders of their Kage, the Swordsmen had flat out refused to have anything to do with the genocide. This was due to Mist and Whirlpool being former allies and the Uzumaki being instrumental in the creation of the legendary Seven Swords.

"After the sign in the sky, the first of the refugees from Whirlpool began to arrive at Konoha's gates. We had not known anything about it. Whirlpool had been attacked because they saved us from certain destruction. While they reaped the reward for their loyalty, we did nothing. Our greatest ally was killed almost to the last man in a planned genocide and we had done nothing to help them. The Confederacy had succeeded in their plan. But to date there has never been a more costly victory in the history of the Elemental Nations. We wear a red swirl to remember our shame. The Uzumaki clan was not a part of Konoha, yet they had done more for us than any other and in their greatest time of need, we did nothing. We wear the red symbol of the Uzumaki to remind us of the Scarlet Warriors."

Iruka sighed. Despite not being a shinobi at that time, he, like many others, bore the shame for their inaction. "This was the beginning of the Third Shinobi World War. Konoha was heavily outnumbered. But not as much as they would have been if it weren't for the Uzumaki. It is often said by those who fought in the war that if it were not for the sacrifice that they had made, not even the Yellow Flash could have saved us. I, for one, agree."

Silence once again fell on the room. It was broken by a sleepy voice. "Iruka-sensei, if the Battle of the Laughing Scarlet Warriors was as troublesome as you say, how is it that we know of it in such detail?"

Iruka nodded. "A good question Shikamaru and one that can be answered. Seals. I already told you that the Uzumaki were unsurpassed when it came to seals. When they knew that they were going to die, Uzumaki Isamu, clan head of the Uzumaki, sealed all of his memories of the event within a scroll that could only be opened by those of the Uzumaki bloodline."

"Go ojii-sama," Naruto whispered.

"His daughter," Iruka continued, "Kushina Uzumaki, opened the scroll and relived the entire event. It was… difficult for her. But it the only complete record that we have of the battle and likely the only one that exists."

"What about the battle reports of the surviving shinobi?" Sasuke asked.

Iruka shrugged. "All of them were destroyed. You see, the Uzumaki had done so much to them that they gave them the worst possible punishment. Oblivion. No report exists of the battle. None of their students are taught of the battle, or of the Uzumaki. Every history book in every land that was a part of the Confederacy does not mention them. If it did, then the name has been blacked out. The name is not even talked about in these nations. They want nothing more than for the name 'Uzumaki' to disappear, to fade until it is as if it never even existed."

Sasuke shivered, imagining for an instant his own clan becoming subject to such a thing. He would not allow it.

* * *

"What about the daughter?" Ino asked. Many of the females in the class nodded their heads.

"Kushina?" Iruka asked. They nodded the affirmative. Iruka sighed. "Yes, the Whirlpool Princess. From what I understand, she went mad with grief for a while. Who wouldn't? She witnessed each and every one of her family's deaths as if it happened right in front of her. It is said that Isamu held the hands of almost every Uzumaki as they died. These were memories, not images or genjutsu. She remembered the smell of the battlefield. She remembered the blood of her family hitting her face, she remembered the feeling of her brother's heart stop beating. She remembered. Kushina hurled herself into any of those who stood against her, repeatedly throwing herself into suicidal situations. She gained the fear of her enemies many times over. But despite her wishing for death, there was always at least one of two groups to pull her out of it. One, was her best friend since her academy days in Konoha. The other, was the Uchiha clan."

Sasuke's head snapped up like a whip. "What?" he demanded.

Iruka smiled. "Aye. The Uchiha and the Uzumaki became allies when Uzumaki Mito fought against the traitorous Madara. The alliance was strengthened in the Second Shinobi World War. Most of the defenders of Konoha at that time were Uchiha. A disease had been going through the Uchiha compound, which resulted in many having to stay behind for a while to get well. The ties between them became stronger once more when the Uzumaki planted the seals within that compound that rendered that disease impotent. And then there was the fact that Kushina had been placed in the same Genin team as an Uchiha by the name of Mikoto."

"My mom," Sasuke whispered. Naruto blinked. He had not known _that._

Iruka nodded. "They were two of the best of friends. Apparently, it was Mikoto and Minato Namikaze who got her out of her depression."

"What happened to her in the end?" Sakura asked.

"She faced the Kyuubi side by side with her childhood friend, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash." It was not Iruka who answered. Everyone turned to see Naruto staring forward at the blackboard, not meeting anyone's eyes. He continued in the same soft, calm tone of voice, yet it was tinged with just the slightest hints of bitterness. "Despite giving birth to a child just hours beforehand, she stood side by side with the Yellow Flash and faced down the strongest of the bijuu." The bitterness in Naruto's voice grew. "I look towards the Fourth as my hero and respect him above all others. Yet it's funny isn't it? Twice has the Kyuubi attacked Konoha. Twice has it been faced by a Hokage and an Uzumaki. Twice has it been defeated. And twice, all the credit went to the Hokage. Now ain't that a kick in the nuts?" Naruto had heard the story straight from Kyuubi's mouth. He didn't exactly forgive Kyuubi, despite the fact that he had originally been under Madara's control. He understood why he did it. No one wants to be caged for years on end, but forgiveness would take time.

Naruto snorted. "It's funny isn't it? The Fourth is worshipped as a hero for defeating the Kyuubi, while Kushina's name fades from memory." Hinata, who had been sitting next to him, touched his arm comfortingly. Naruto smiled painfully to Hinata, his eyes dead as he patted her hand. "And yet," he continued suddenly, staring at the rest of the class. "Their dead bodies were both found arm in arm with each other at the site of Kyuubi's defeat. But I? I will not forget." With that, Naruto pushed his chair out from his desk, and walked out of the door. This had not been quite as much fun as he had thought it would have been. He looked back on one person alone and felt a stab of regret as he saw the pain in a pair of lavender eyes. But he still left.

* * *

Naruto sat at the edge of the Hokage monument, just above his father's head, staring out at Konoha as the sun set behind it. It was so unfair. Sure, he loved the fact that his dad was so respected amongst those in Konoha. He understood that as a dead Kage, he would have been deemed as a much more important figure than his mother. But they had fought together side by side and it was only by them working together that they were able to emerge victorious. He felt that his mother also deserved some of the credit.

"Dobe, you are one annoying person to find." Naruto blinked. He knew that voice. Sasuke sat next to him, joining him in staring out at the scenery. "So, you're also the last of a clan?" he asked curiously.

Naruto laughed bitterly. "The last of two clans actually. My mother married the heir to another clan as well."

Sasuke blinked. "Which one?"

Naruto smiled goofily at him. "That, is a secret."

Sasuke scowled. "Fight me."

Naruto blinked once again. "Excuse me?

"Fight me. You come from a strong clan and would be a worthy test to see how far I have to go to fight… him."

"Alright…" Naruto said as he slowly moved into his basic, horrible, Academy stance. Sasuke's eyes flashed. "Not that way dobe. I want to fight the real you. The one I saw last week, the one who took down someone twice his size in three and a half seconds. Don't hold back."

Naruto smirked. "Fine. I should have known that you wouldn't fall for it. In my defense, I was a little bit distracted that day."

Sasuke smirked straight back. "I know. Your girlfriend wasn't talking to you."

"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" Naruto yelled as he rushed in to attack Sasuke. Sasuke immediately performed a roundhouse kick at Naruto, unprepared for him to hit the ground and slide towards him. Naruto's foot shot out and up trying to connect with Sasuke's chin to perform a rendan. Sasuke just managed to block the kick, wincing at the strength behind it. Naruto pushed himself off the ground in a spin, sending the other leg Sasuke's way, which was also blocked. But the following backhand struck him solidly on the jaw. Sasuke's eyes widened. Barely a second had passed and Naruto had already landed the first blow.

Naruto could hardly prevent the grin threatening to break his features. Sasuke was good, very good for an academy student, especially with his Intercepting Fist. But he was not nearly as good as Anko. This would be fun.

Sasuke came in cautiously, sending a couple of fast jabs Naruto's way. Each of them were evaded or blocked. Slowly, the speed of the match sped up. It didn't make sense. Naruto was using all points of his body to block and or attack. Toes, heel, shin, knee, elbows, palm, fists, head, even his "oof."

"Shoulder," Sasuke gasped. Naruto had leapt at him, accepting the blow to the head in exchange for slamming the point of his shoulder into Sasuke's chest. In close, Naruto performed a four-step combo. Spinning close to Sasuke's body, he slammed his right elbow into the already injured chest, next stomping viciously on Sasuke's foot, causing him to crouch down. This exposed the back of Sasuke's neck to another elbow strike. Stunned, Sasuke fell to the ground. Grabbing hold of the Uchiha's hair, Naruto drew a kunai and placed it on his throat.

"Dead."

Sasuke grinned. He knew this hold. Naruto had not struck the perfect spot at the back of his neck. He didn't know that this had been intentional. He did know that he was still in a position to make a fight of it. "Don't underestimate me," he gasped, still winded. Grabbing Naruto's hands with his own, Sasuke arched his entire body hurled Naruto over his head and away from him in a chakra strengthened motion. As soon as his hands left Naruto's skin, he began doing hand signs. "Katon: Goukyaku no Jutsu!" It was a relatively slow fireball and Sasuke had every confidence that Naruto would evade it. What he did not expect was for Naruto to narrow his eyes and charge right at it.

"ARE YOU CRAZY? GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Sasuke could no longer see Naruto as the fireball was in the way. Suddenly, it burst apart, revealing that Naruto had leapt headfirst through the flames, a spiraling sphere of crystal blue light rested naturally over his palm, which was thrust out in front of him, leading the way. Sasuke dived to the side as Naruto crashed into the ground next to him. But the blond had released the sphere and, catching the ground with his hand, used the momentum to spin around and hit Sasuke in the face with his heel. The same kunai was thrown at him from the other hand, just nicking the side of his neck.

"Dead."

Sasuke was furious now and grabbed a bunch of shuriken, throwing them at Naruto. Naruto bent in an almost unnatural position to avoid the spinning stars, unsurprised that Sasuke had them on him, despite the academy rules. He was also unsurprised by the wires that wrapped around him as Sasuke twitched his fingers. He had seen it coming and had contemplated using a replacement to get free, but that would have been a bad idea. Sasuke needed this. He needed to have some form of victory otherwise he would go all emo on them all. Walking towards Naruto, Sasuke placed the kunai at his neck.

"Dead," he said emphatically.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Naruto growled. "I wasn't expecting the wires okay? Now get me out of here."

"Hn."

"OH OF ALL THE… fine teme. I'll get myself out."

Sasuke snorted. Watching as the heavily trussed up Naruto wiggled around before…

"Oh, shit."

Falling flat on his face. The sight was most amusing until Naruto was able to get his hands together. Poof. A log appeared in his place.

"Praise the log, for it is good," Naruto muttered.

"Amen," Sasuke answered unthinkingly.

"I still beat you," Naruto said.

"Why the hell are you the dead last?" Sasuke asked incredulously, wincing at his many bruises. He had been hit about five times for every hit he landed on the blond. It smarted both to his body, but also to his pride.

Naruto quirked an eyebrow at Sasuke. "You really need me to explain it to you Sasuke. Tell me, how do they organize team placements?"

"To balance each team for optimum performance."

Naruto translated this and nodded. "Right, which means what?"

Sasuke's eyes widened. "It means that they put the dead last and the rookie of the year in the same team."

Naruto smiled. "Bingo. I want to be on your team Sasuke. You and me together. I reckon that we could do a lot of damage."

"Hn… Just don't get in my way. I will gain the power I need to avenge my clan. Don't drag me down."

Naruto snorted and tossed something to Sasuke, who reflexively snagged it from the air. It was a chain link. "Right now, you're just a single link. You've got nothing binding you to anything else. One link by itself, is useless. But, when you put those single links together, then you can get something that is much greater than the sum of its parts. The Uzumaki knew that. They stood together with other 'links.' Your family, the Uchiha, knew that as well. They stood together with the Uzumaki. Perhaps it is time for them to stand together once more."

Sasuke just stared at Naruto, at the link in his hand and then at Naruto once again. "We both want to get strong, but for different reasons. I say we help each other and become stronger than anyone else. Me helping you and you helping me. But I swear to kami if you go emo on me, I'm going to have to beat it out of you. Too much dwelling in the past and you don't prepare for the future. And in that future, I'll stand by your side when you face Itachi," Sasuke started at the name. "And you'll stand by my side when I face the man who killed both my parents." At this, Naruto stuck out his hand.

Sasuke looked, first at the link and then at the hand, the link, the hand, the link… with a smirk, no, not a smirk, but a smile, Sasuke took Naruto's hand and changed the future that would have been.

* * *

AN

Well, that's it, for a while at least. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Thanks to all those who have read this story. Even bigger thanks to those who stopped to review. I enjoyed writing about the Uzumaki's last stand. I might put it in detail in a oneshot if I get enough interest. Well, I'm now at over 70,000 words and I have yet to reach canon. Hope you guys don't mind too much, but I'm enjoying myself! Yes, I made the Uzumaki badass, but if they live for so long, then they've got a lot of time to become badass. Ah, well. Thanks again to hinatasgreatestfan, this chapter wouldn't have been half as good without you. Read, Enjoy and Review everybody!

TwiceMarked out.


	13. ANBU's Anger

AN: Hello everybody and welcome to the _longest_ chapter of This Time as a Namikaze that I have _ever_ published. Bet you guys didn't expect to see me again so soon. Anyway, thanks to all those who reviewed. (Past 400! Yay!) As a reward, here's the next chapter. To tell you the truth though, this one almost wrote itself. I think it was because of that massive twist that Kishi just dropped on us all in the manga. If you're up to date with it, then you would know what I'm talking about. Props go to my great Beta, hinatasgreatestfan, for going through this chapter with me until the early hours of the morning. The dude is dedicated. Anyway, enjoy.

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, then there would be a lot more crack in the story, like there is in this chapter!

* * *

Chapter 12

ANBU'S Anger

By the time that Naruto and Sasuke got back into the city, chatting together all the way, Konoha was in uproar. ANBU were running around all over the place, seemingly searching for something, or, perhaps, someone.

"_Wow, what the heck is of this all about?"_ Shinigami wondered.

"Who do you think that they're all looking for?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know…" Sasuke answered. "You haven't done anything, have you?"

Slowly, Naruto turned pale.

"It's not so much a matter of what I've done, teme, it's more along the lines of what have they found out and what can they prove…" he laughed nervously when he finished talking.

Sasuke deadpanned, "what exactly have you done?"

Naruto looked thoughtful and started ticking things off his fingers. "Let me see now… There's scaring the shit out of the Hyuuga clan, painting the noses of the Nara deer a bright red and shaving the name 'Rudolph' into their fur, dosing the Akimichi's food supply with laxatives, replacing the Inuzuka's flea powder with itching powder, swapping the underwear around in the male and female onsen, putting high grade caffeine in the Nara men's water supply, pasting psychic reading posters all over the Yamanaka's homes, super gluing a cane to this guy called Danzo's hand, replacing a cyclopean Jonin's porn with yaoi," a traumatized wail indicating extreme mental scarring came from the distance. Naruto chuckled evilly. "I also entered Tora into an underground fighting arena. She's beaten all comers so far and is making me a real killing. I broke into the ANBU department and placed a very strong adhesive to the backs of their masks. You know, their secret identity _is_ very important…" Sasuke's eyes, which had been getting steadily wider as the list grew…and grew, were now almost ready to fall from his head. Just what the hell had he gotten himself into?

"And then there was also the-"

"UZUMAKI!" an ANBU yelled, catching sight of the day-glo orange figure.

Naruto paled dramatically. "Oh crap, that can't be good. Well, see you later Sasuke and just so you know, you're welcome to join Hinata and me after school for some running training; it can be very useful. Like now for instance."

A full squad of ANBU was running towards him.

"YOU'LL NEVER CATCH ME ALIIIIIIVE!" Naruto yelled, cackling madly as he sprinted off down the road, leaving a small cloud of dust in his wake.

* * *

On Arlia's suggestion, Hinata had not gone after Naruto as soon as the academy had gone out. "He just needs a little time to be by himself, Sweetie, besides, you've got training at home remember?" Her life had changed dramatically since the day that she and Arlia had met. No more was she the disgrace of the clan, thanks, to the most part, she thought, to Arlia's help. Hinata remembered well the conversation that they had had when Arlia had first appeared to her.

_Flashback_

"Hello Hinata. I am someone who hopes to be your friend. At this point you could me… a spirit I suppose, as I am not up to my usual strength. But as to who I am… I am the Goddess of Love and Matrimony, wife of the Shinigami, Lord of the Dead and daughter to Kami, who doesn't really need any introduction. But you? You can call me Arlia."

Hinata nodded her head slowly. "Oh," she said. Hinata just looked her up and down.

"Would you like some tea?"

Arlia looked at Hinata, more than a little flabbergasted. "That's it? No fainting, no gasp of amazement, no nothing? Just 'would you like some tea'?"

Hinata shrugged. "I've had a very strange day today," she apologized. "Right now, I think I would believe just about anything."

Arlia slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand. "Stupid blond," she muttered. "Absolutely ruined my entrance."

"So…would you like some?" Hinata asked.

"I'd love some thank you," Arlia sighed.

Five minutes later, they were both sitting on Hinata's bed drinking a lovely cup of green tea. Arlia's eyes lit up with appreciation after the first taste. Hinata really knew what she was doing when it came to the culinary arts.

"A-Ano," Hinata stuttered. The ridiculousness of her situation, sitting next to a Goddess and drinking a cup of tea, was beginning to get through the haze in her mind.

"M-may I ask why y-you are here, Ar-Arlia-sama?"

Arlia sighed appreciatively as she placed her cup down. "That's good stuff. Well Hinata, yes, you may ask."

Silence reigned in the room for a few seconds.

"You have not yet asked," Arlia prompted gently. It may seem slightly petty, but Hinata needed to learn how to ask for things upfront to help her get over her shyness.

"Gomen, w-why are you here?"

"There's no need to apologize, Hinata. As to why I am here, well it's mostly the fault of two people," Arlia said cryptically.

Hinata frowned. "Who?"

Arlia smiled. "My husband, Shinigami, and Naruto."

A crack appeared in the cup Hinata was holding as she heard her crush's name.

"Na-Naruto? What did he d-do?"

"Something rather stupid actually," Arlia stated, calmly lifting her cup to her lips for another sip of tea. She sighed whimsically. "But at the same time something rather admirable."

"What did he do?" Hinata asked again. That did sound a lot like Naruto-kun.

"You do know that Naruto is a very special individual, correct?" Arlia asked, seemingly ignoring Hinata's own question.

Hinata nodded her head, slightly impatiently. Of course she knew that Naruto-kun was special!

Arlia smiled. "Thing is, you don't really know just how special he is. To cut a long story short, let's just say that he did something to catch my husband's attention."

The cup in Hinata's hand shattered. Uncaring of the deep cuts in her hands, Hinata bolted towards the door. If Naruto had caught Shinigami's attention then…

Arlia caught her by the back of her jacket, showing surprisingly fast reflexes. "Whoa there, Honey! Don't worry, your little lover-boy is fine." Hinata blushed a bright red at Arlia's words. Arlia clucked her tongue at the state of Hinata's hands. Holding them in her own, she began rubbing them, the cuts healing quickly under her gentle fingers.

"In fact, he's doing better than fine. He and Gami-kun get along like two best friends. Yes, thick as thieves, those two," a slightly disapproving tone entered her voice as she thought of some of the times when the two males got a bit too…rowdy.

"Look, bottom line is that my hubby is sticking around with Naruto for a while, helping to prepare him for what's coming for him."

Hinata blinked. This was getting a little too far-fetched for her to accept even in the state she was in.

"B-But then, why are _you_ here?" she asked again. "Were you the one who made my clan act…"

"Nice?" Arlia asked, her eyebrow quirked.

Hinata nodded, slightly shamefaced. Yes, that word would work.

"No," Arlia said airily. "You were right in your first guess. Naruto was the one who did that. He's such a sweetie isn't he?" Arlia sighed dramatically and longingly.

Hinata growled lightly in her throat. Arlia blinked before looking again at Hinata, who had a very noticeable expression in her eyes. An expression that just seemed to shout: '_Mine!_'

Arlia smirked. The girl had spirit. It was buried deep, but it was there.

"Aw, don't look at me like that Honey, I'm a married woman. Besides, I'll be helping you to get stronger for a while, build up your confidence and the like."

Hinata frowned slightly. "Arigatou, Arlia-sama-"

"Just Arlia is fine, Hon," the Goddess interrupted.

"Arigatou…Arlia. But _why_ would you help _me_?"

Arlia smiled, spreading her arms wide. "I'm the Goddess of Love, remember? You interest me and so, I am going to help you. Besides, all good heroes, like Naruto-kun, need to have a damsel. Seems to me that you'll fit the bill perfectly."

Hinata had had a very emotionally charged day. She had admitted to caring for Naruto, she had decided to go against her clan's rulings, no matter the cost, she had been convinced that she was going to be banished, she had had her entire clan get on their knees before her and beg her for forgiveness, including her father! She had met and had tea with the goddess of love. It was only now, at said Goddess's final words…that she passed out in a dead faint.

_Flashback End_

Arlia, however, did not think that she had very much to do with it. The most that she had really done was to be a voice in her head, combatting the negative thoughts that plagued her.

She had just constantly given Hinata the praise that she needed and deserved and the child was blossoming under her tender care. Arlia had also been a person for Hinata to talk to about anything and everything. Sometimes the talks got quite amusing, sometimes embarrassing. Naruto was the subject of a lot of the conversations. Hinata had never before had anyone to talk to about her crush. Hell, for the longest time, Hinata had never really had anyone to talk to about _anything_. Sometimes though, Hinata could do without Arlia's comments. Like this morning when Iruka had told them about the Uzumaki clan: "Did you hear that Hinata? _Legendary_ _endurance_ and _stamina_! Ooh, you go girl, you sure know how to pick them!" Despite being a Goddess of Love, Hinata had found that at times, Arlia could be quite, dare she say it, perverted.

* * *

Of course, that wasn't the only thing that Arlia had done. She had also done quite a bit to help Hinata with her taijutsu.

_Flashback_

"Look, Honey," Arlia said kindly. "You're not exactly made for the traditional Gentle Fist. Most of the time, those who practice it are very rigid in their movements. You, on the other hand, are _very_ flexible. Use that flexibility, move around, dart in, bend out of the way or so that you can get a strike in."

Arlia had taken Hinata to what was known as a 'mindscape,' Hinata had been quite surprised to see that she had one. At first, most of it was dark, with one small sunny place. Naruto was in that sunny place, as was her mother, or at least, her memories of them were there. But with Arlia's help, a field with a bright blue sky had been created, with a small area designated as a training ground. A lavender-tinted sun was in the sky, filling the entire area with a gentle light. Hinata always felt a sense of peace when she was here.

Of course, the Gentle Fist was not the only taijutsu that they worked on when in her mindscape. At the moment, Arlia was also drilling Hinata in two other forms of taijutsu. One, which Hinata found to be quite difficult, was called the 'Gentle Way.' It focused on using your opponent's own speed and power against them to throw, or grapple with them. Although striking with both the hands and feet was also included in this style, it was completely unlike anything that Hinata had ever done before, however, due to her quickness and lightness on her feet, it was something that no one would've expected she was capable of it. The second was learning the basics of Snake Style and incorporating that into her Gentle Fist.

Although, when she was told how many males would find the flexibility needed to perform the snake style _very_ appealing, Hinata had blushed a bright red and got to work on it with twice the enthusiasm.

_End Flashback_

At least once or twice a day, Arlia would draw her into her mindscape, usually when she was sitting at a clan meeting, and practice with her. Just yesterday, Hinata had hands down beaten Hanabi in a match. It had started as it usually did, with Hanabi pushing Hinata back…

_Flashback_

"Hajime!" barked the proctor. Hanabi immediately rushed towards Hinata, her hands striking like snakes towards her, Byakugan blazing. Hinata dodged the first strike, the second, the third. But no matter how many strikes she dodged, using ways that were not strictly speaking, Gentle Fist, she could not bring herself to hit her little sister.

"Good girl Hinata! Bend! Bend! That's it! As my husband would say: Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee! Sting! Sting! STIIIIING!" Within Hinata's mindscape, Arlia frowned.

"Dear, you do know that in order to win a fight, you actually have to hit back, don't you?"

"H-Hai, but, it's H-Hanabi! I don't want to h-hurt m-my little sister."

Arlia's eyebrows shot up. So…that was the reason. Arlia could understand Hinata's point of view. In other cases, she would even applaud it. But judging from the arrogance that seemed to come off the younger girl in large waves, what Hanabi needed right now was a little bit of tough love. And Hinata needed to be the one to give it to her.

"Come on Honey, you don't have to hurt her, just put her in an impossible situation to get out of."

Hinata said nothing as she dodged another one of her sister's quick blows. Hanabi snarled in anger, momentarily forgetting her usual Hyuuga demeanor, as she proved yet again unable to hit her sister. And the worst part of it was the slightly glazed expression in Hinata's eyes, almost as if she weren't paying her all of her attention.

This was mostly because, in fact, Hinata _wasn't_ paying Hanabi all of her attention. Arlia was preventing her from doing so. If Hinata had been paying her full attention to the fight, then she would have begun to lose confidence in herself, she would have begun riding herself down and that would have resulted in her losing. At this moment, Hinata was moving on instinct.

"What, is your sister more powerful than you are?"

Hinata drew in on herself slightly, wordlessly agreeing with that last statement.

"Oh! Well in that case, maybe it would be better for Naruto if Hanabi were his damsel…after all, she needs to be able to protect herself…"

"MINE!" Hinata mentally shouted.

Arlia grinned. "Then how about this? Get in close, take her down and I'll teach you some techniques that'll have Naruto wrapped around your little finger…"

Hiashi had been very surprised at the results of the fight so far, if you could call it that. Hinata had not made a single strike against Hanabi yet, at the same time though, Hanabi had not been _able_ to make a single strike on Hinata. All the time though, it seemed almost as if Hinata were having a conversation with herself.

Suddenly though, the glazed look left her eyes, being replaced by a look of intense concentration, as well as a large blush… Hinata raised her hand in a circular motion, deflecting Hanabi's last strike to the side. At the same time, she stepped in close, grabbing the younger girl's arm and sweeping one foot behind Hanabi's legs and causing her to be thrown into the air. Hanabi gave a high-pitched yelp as her feet left the ground and a lower grunt as she impacted against the hard floor. Hinata did not release her sister's arm, twisting it after placing her foot in the small of Hanabi's back, and pinning her on the ground. Leaning down, Hinata formed a dagger hand at the back of Hanabi's head, showing that if she so wanted, she could easily turn Hanabi's brain into jelly.

The proctor called the match in Hinata's favor.

_Flashback end_

* * *

Hinata still thought that she had been lucky. The o soto gari was the only throw that she had practiced enough to be confident of using it in a fight and she had been given the perfect opportunity to do so. Arlia however, said that she had been the one to see the opportunity and the fact that she had done the throw perfectly after only two days of training in its use was beyond impressive. When questioned on where she had learned such a throw, Hinata had stammered out that a friend at the academy had taught her. It was true, in a way. Arlia had shown her the move at the academy, so it wasn't really lying…

Hinata wondered now what had got her father in such a mood. He had actually made the time to ask her about how her day had gone at the academy, something that he would never have done before Naruto did…whatever he did.

Hinata had never really asked about that, for the same reason she never asked why her father and the elders had cut their hair. It seemed a rather touchy subject. However, what surprised her was his reaction when Hinata had spoken of the history lesson that Iruka had spoken of. He had grown very surprised but had seemingly enjoyed the story as much as she had. "Was this the first time that you heard of the Uzumaki clan?" Hiashi had asked, sternly.

"H-Hai, tou-san," Hinata stuttered. Hiashi frowned darkly, muttering under his breath something about the elders, judging by his tone, it was not complementary. His gaze grew melancholy, as did his words.

"Your mother was great friends with Uzumaki Kushina, one of the last Uzumaki's it was her hope that Kushina would be the one to remove the caged bird seal from the branch house, to make the Hyuuga a united clan once more.

Hinata's eyes widened. "Is that possible, tou-san?" she asked, hope tingeing her voice.

Hiashi snorted. "For one of _our_ seal masters? Unlikely. It is much more difficult to remove a curse seal than it is to apply it. But for an Uzumaki versed in the sealing arts of their clan? For them, it would be well within the realms of possibility."

"A-Ano, tou-san?" Hiashi looked down at his apprehensive daughter.

"Hai?"

"W-we also learned a lot about Uzumaki Kushina-sama."

"Oh," Hiashi decided to humor her and hear out what she had to say. It had been such a long time since he had last had an actual conversation with his eldest daughter. It was surprising how much he was actually enjoying it. "Why don't you tell me about her, Hinata?"

And so, Hinata did, how the Whirlpool Princess had been mad with grief, how she had witnessed the deaths of every single one of her family, how she had gained a reputation amongst all those nation s who she fought against, how the Uchiha had become her ally in this, her most trying time. All of this, Hiashi knew. But Hinata had not yet finished.

She spoke of how Kushina had fought the Kyuubi side by side with Minato, her childhood friend. How that she did this despite just have given birth to a child. How both the Fourth's and Kushina's body had been found together, arm in arm at the site of Kyuubi's defeat.

"Where did you learn this?" Hiashi whispered.

Hinata blinked. "At the a-academy, tou-san."

Hiashi cut his hand through the air in an impatient gesture, causing Hinata to flinch. He winced at that, but carried on. "I know you learned it at the academy, but who was it that told you? Was it Iruka?" he demanded.

Hinata shook her head. "N-No, Iruka did not seem to be aware of this. It was Naruto-kun who told this to the class."

Hiashi fell back into his chair, his mind a whirlwind of activity. How had the boy known this? Where had he learned it? Why were the clan heads not told? Did this mean that-

His train of thought was interrupted by his daughter, "A-Ano, tou-san, but, was Kushina-sama Naruto-kun's mother?"

Hiashi's mind hit a mental blank, as these words seemed to reverberate inside his skull. However, before he was able to fully process this question, an ANBU appeared in his office, escorted by one of the branch family. Security had had a major overhaul after the incident with Yurei.

"Excuse me Hiashi-sama, but your presence is required at the council."

That had been two hours ago. Now, Hinata was walking the streets, on the lookout for Naruto. Suddenly, an orange blur rushed past her, closely pursued by a squad of ANBU. "Hi, Hinata-chan!" said blur called out, without stopping.

Arlia sighed. "That boy really needs a new hobby."

Hinata nodded agreeably as she turned and followed the sound of the manic laughter.

* * *

The young blond boy had impressed one of the ANBU who was chasing him. He had been running flat out for a good five to ten minutes at a speed at which they could not catch him. But they had been slowly gaining on him for a while now, it wouldn't be long now before they would catch him. The other two ANBU, however, had chased Naruto before. They could guess at the thoughts that were even now running through the rookie's head.

'Poor fool,' they thought. Oh yes, they knew the blond. Naruto was devilishly fast when he wanted to be. He had a slightly sadistic state of mind when it came to throwing off pursuit and he knew the streets of Konoha as only one who had lived on them could.

A cart suddenly pulled out from a side alley directly in front of Naruto. Never even slowing down, Naruto slammed his right foot down on the ground and pushed up, twisting his body as he did so. It was enough to do a handless cartwheel up and over the cart. Hitting the ground once more, he carried on running, not losing any momentum at all.

The rookie following him blinked. Turning to his companion, he spoke. "Did he just-"

"Yep," the other two answered in unison.

"Over the-"

"Yep."

"But he's just a-"

"We know. Shut up and run."

Naruto was laughing hysterically as he continued to lead the ANBU following him on a merry chase. Shinigami had taught him about this style of running. In actual fact, it was a mix of two styles, parkour and freerunning. Parkour was basically a way of running as the crow flies, overcoming any obstacle in the most efficient way possible. Free running was all of that, but with a whole lot of tricks thrown into the mix as well. A normal civilian could do this to degrees that could make them seem to be almost ninja. A ninja doing this… Well, he couldn't run as fast as the ANBU chasing him, curse his short legs, but he was the one laughing, while they were the ones swearing.

Speaking of said ANBU, one of them just appeared right in front of him, legs spread and arms wide open to prevent Naruto from escaping. Naruto almost rolled his eyes as he hit the ground at full speed in a slide that took him right between the surprised shinobi's legs. Naruto did however, laugh out loud when the ones who had been chasing him crashed into the other ANBU, who at the time was looking through the fork in his legs with the rather surprised expression on his face hidden by his mask. This left the four nin all tangled up in a heap in the middle of the road. Naruto's mocking laughter was like salt to the open wound of the elite ninja's pride. Sighing, an ANBU wearing a wolf mask got on his radio.

"Ladies and gentleman, we have a code orange, repeat, code orange. Requesting back-up and maybe some tranquilizers?"

"Back up is on the way. Request for tranquilizers denied…again."

The wolf ANBU sighed. "Then could you call my wife and tell her that I'm going to be a bit late back home?"

"Can do."

* * *

"This is starting to get a little tense," Naruto commented seemingly to himself, as the ANBU running behind him was too puffed to reply, with a large amount of anime tears streaming down from his face. In his defense though, Naruto had started throwing some of the stuff he had kept in his school backpack over his shoulders in order to discourage pursuers from getting too close. He still fondly recalled the dictionary that had smacked square into that bird ANBU's face. Who said words couldn't hurt you?

His current particular pursuer had got a face full of chili powder. Naruto had been regretful of letting that go. You see, it was high quality stuff, worthy of being used to make the 'curry of death.' He had been planning on mixing it with Mizuki's coffee. Sigh. Mizuki had become the target for a rather large amount of pranks that Naruto pulled. He still didn't like the bastard, although at times he felt something akin to pity for him. Meh, who was he kidding? He enjoyed every moment of his pain.

Naruto blinked at that thought. So did Shinigami. The fox, however, felt so proud of the young kit.

"_You've been spending too much time around Anko."_

"You know what, I might just agree with you… Can I use the tree walking technique now?"

Shinigami shrugged. _"You've kept them off you for over an hour, running in plain sight. Yeah, why not."_

"Thanks!" Naruto grinned, and immediately made a sharp turn to a crowded street. Realistically speaking, there was no way on earth for him to make it through with any kind of speed. It did not stop him from entering the crowd with extreme prejudice. Having no other choice, the ANBU followed him.

Almost immediately after he did so, Naruto used his smaller size to his advantage and reached a wall. To the shocked ANBU's gaze, he ran horizontally along the wall as if he had been doing it for years, over the crowd's heads and off into another street. The lizard masked ninja could do nothing but watch, too enclosed around by people to jump to the wall and do the same for fear of knocking them down.

Letting out an explosive breath of air, Lizard reached for his radio.

"Be advised, subject knows and can perform the tree walking technique with great competency."

"What the hell? You saying he can run up walls now as well?" came the voice of an indignant female ANBU, Yugao, if he was not mistaken.

"Yes. We no longer have that advantage on him," Lizard growled out.

Several vulgar swear words were uttered by the ANBU who had had the misfortune of having to chase Naruto before. They did not say them over the radio, of course. The ANBU have standards to maintain after all. That did not make them any less heartfelt though.

"Alright, everyone who thinks that we really don't get paid enough for this say aye," the annoyed voice of Wolf came over the headsets.

"Aye."

"Aye."

"Aye."

"Aye."

"Ay…"

Lizard turned off his radio. It was slightly demoralizing to hear about how one kid learning a basic technique had so many ANBU thinking such traitorous thoughts. Privately though, he agreed with them.

* * *

Naruto had now taken to the roofs in order to avoid those that were searching for him. The ANBU were getting a little bit pissed and therefore, a lot more difficult to avoid. They had even started using several low-grade jutsu to try and catch him. That was after the nets proved to be absolutely useless. Sigh, the log was good.

These jutsu included some kind of sticky stuff that was spat onto the floor in front of him. Fortunately though, he had managed to go over it with a chakra-fueled jump. The ANBU had been surprised at that. The syrupy substance proved to be useful next time he came down that alley though. As far as Naruto was aware, that Hawk ANBU was still stuck in it face first on the ground. Surprisingly, he made a very good bridge.

Naruto was pretty sure that he had also seen a miniature swamp of the underworld. That was fun, Naruto had grabbed a handy plank of wood and used it to skid across the entire thing. But now, he should probably get to Jiji's office and let the poor masked ninja have a break. But first, he should probably lose this last batch of pursuers.

"Subject is on the rooftops, heading north-north-east in sector twelve, we are almost within capture range," one of the three ANBU behind him yelled.

"Take him down! Take him down!" came the slightly hysterical voice from the radio. It had been almost three hours since the chase began.

Naruto looked behind his shoulder, a large fox like grin on his features. "See ya!" he said as he vaulted over the low wall and off the roof.

"Follow him!" shouted Wolf, who had the misfortune of being involved in the chase yet again. All three ANBU immediately jumped off the roof and fell to the ground. Naruto was nowhere to be seen. Looking back, they saw Naruto hop up from the windowsill he had been clinging on, back on top of the roof and start running in the opposite direction. The rookie standing next to Wolf choked back his sobs of frustration.

"This is Wolf," the ANBU reported tiredly. "Please be advised, the subject has escaped pursuit." His next words were slightly hopeful. "Requesting the use of lethal force?"

"I sure do hope you're joking, Wolf." The voice from headquarters was filled with disapproval.

"Mostly sir," Wolf said, mulishly. "Mostly."

An hysterical voice broke in to the conversation. "HEY! I SEE HIM! THE BRAT'S ON HIS WAY TO THE HOKAGE TOWER!"

"All units and I do mean all of you! To the Tower. Now!"

* * *

Naruto grinned, enjoying the slight burning of his muscles and the way that he had to gasp every now and then to catch his breath. Since Shinigami had repaired his seal, Naruto's endurance had become even more ridiculous and it took a lot to get him to feel physically tired. Now, he only had a couple more blocks to go before he reached Jiji. It would be good to see him after so long. Besides, Naruto was ready to see the old man's face again. Hinata was doing better than ever, he had Sasuke's respect and acknowledgment, friendship would come later, not to mention that he now knew more about…

"Oh, crap," Naruto swore softly. He had just turned the corner to find the route to the Hokage tower blocked by four lines of sweaty, annoyed, purposeful ANBU. And they had spotted him. Naruto gulped. They didn't look very happy, and yet he would swear that he could see the glint of the sun smiling off several wide grins directed at him, visible even through the tiny gap in their masks.

Naruto gulped. Looking around wildly for a moment, his eyes rested on a long pole laying at the side of the building. As one, every ANBU took a single step forward. There was only about twelve meters between them, and their elusive target.

Slowly, Naruto grabbed hold of the pole, lifting it off the ground.

"I don't suppose we could talk about this?" he asked nervously.

Several ANBU looked at each other and thought 'screw not showing emotion,' they burst into long, hard laughter.

"Guess not," Naruto said, placing the pole against his shoulder, so that it was horizontal to the ground. "Oh well, only one thing left to do," he sighed.

"FOR RAAAAAMMMEEEENNN!" Yelling at the top of his voice, Naruto charged. The ANBU did likewise. Just before the two collided, Naruto stabbed the wind sharpened end of the pole into the ground and lifted himself up and over in a perfect pole vault. At the apex of his flight, he twisted his body around, standing on he very tip of the vertical pole and leapt, using all his strength and as much chakra as possible. The ANBU watched, flabbergasted, as he flew over their heads.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office, people were beginning to get impatient. Danzo was waving his cane around for emphasis as he spoke to Hiruzen, or at least, seeming to. In reality, he was trying to remove it from the palm of his hand without anyone noticing. When he found out who had put superglue on the end of it,…oh, he looked forward to it.

"We have all been waiting here for the Uzumaki child to arrive for over three hours now Hiruzen. Why is it that the council is having so much of its time wasted?"

Hiruzen idly wondered whether or not people would believe his old teammate could 'accidentally' fall out of a window or have a heart attack in his sleep. Probably not.

"I apologize to the honorable council," the Third said sarcastically. "I have my ANBU out searching for Naruto even as we speak. I'm sure that it will only be a matter of time before he is here."

As soon as Hiruzen stopped speaking, Naruto came flying through the open window, his body horizontal to the floor. He hit the ground in a roll and came up facing the third Hokage with a large, vulpine grin on his face.

"Jiji!" he exclaimed, both loudly and joyfully, before jumping at the Third in a move highly reminiscent of a flying tackle.

"I haven't seen you for ages, Jiji!" Naruto said loudly as he hugged him tightly around the neck, his face buried in the Hokage robes so that no one would see his tears. "Where have you been? How have you been? Why are you turning purple? Are you sick?" Sarutobi finally managed to pry Naruto's arms from around his neck, taking in a huge gulp of life giving oxygen.

"Oh, sorry Jiji. I'm doing much better than I was last time I saw you, I've even got a couple of friends now. In fact, I had just made another friend when all of these weirdos in masks tried to catch me. I was way too fast for them though, but there are a lot of them. Don't let the creepy masked men get me Jiji!" Naruto continued speaking in a rapid fire way.

"Ahem!" a loud voice coughed, gaining Naruto's attention. He turned around to see that Danzo had been the one who had coughed. Behind him, was the entirety of Konoha's shinobi and civilian council, all of which were staring at Naruto intensely.

Naruto deadpanned. "Riiiight…I can see that I've come at a real bad time… Bye!" So saying, the blond dived out of window again…into the waiting arms of the vengeful ANBU below.

"AAUUUGGHHH! Come on guys, be reasonable! It was just a joke! OW! MOTHERF- THAT HURT! Just because you were picked on in the academy doesn't give you the right to be a prick!" As Naruto's ranting continued to float through the open window, several people began to shuffle on their feet or turn slowly red.

"I'VE GOT RIGHTS YOU KNOW! I HAVE THE RIGHT TO AN ATTORNEY. I WANT A LAWYER, WHAT ABOUT MY LAST PHONE CALL! Resisting arrest? ARE YOU CRAZY! I THOUGHT YOU PEOPLE HAD TO BE FIT TO BE IN THE ANBU! Maybe you should cut down on the dango… YOU WANT RESISTING ARREST? DON'T MAKE ME KICK YOUR ASS! I DIDN'T DO IT I TELL YOU! HE HAD IT COMING ANYWAY! LET ME GO YOU MASKED PEDOPHILES! Say, do any of you know Orochimaru? HANDCUFFS? Kinky. WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT RUBBER GLOVE FOR? NO I WILL NOT ASSUME THE POSITION! _YOU_ ASSUME THE POSITION!"

A loud, high, yelp of pain came from outside. "SUCK ON THAT YOU SON OF A BITCH! I AM _NOT _GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER CAVITY SEARCH! BAD ANBU! NO DANGO FOR YOU! I PAY YOUR SALARY, DAMMIT!"

The swear words that followed had many of the people open mouthed in shock.

"LET ME GO YOU BASTARDS! AND WORK OFF THOSE GUTS, OR YOU'LL NEVER CATCH ME."

Iruka, who was sitting in the middle of the room on a foldable chair, rubbed the back of his head and laughed nervously.

"Come on guys, what's a good bribe go for around here anyway? OW? What the hell are you doing man? When I get out of here I'm going to MMPPH MMM MM YMD M!"

It wasn't too long after that that five different ANBU dragged Naruto back into the Hokage office. He had been tied up with rope, his hands were both tied together at his wrists and his ankles were kept hobbled. Not to mention the gag that had been tied, tightly, around his mouth.

"Subject, Uzumaki Naruto, has been brought before the council, honorable Hokage," came the haggard voice of the ANBU Wolf.

"Yes, I can see that Wolf. Thank you. May I ask though, why did you tie him up so much?" The Third asked curiously.

"Yeah, Wolf-san. Why are you so mean to me?" Naruto said, suddenly hanging off of the ANBU's arm, the ropes, handcuffs and gag all left in a neat pile behind him.

Shinigami laughed. _"Nice one kid, I knew that you would have enjoyed being taught by Houdini."_ Every now and then, Shinigami brought one of the dead to teach Naruto a thing or two about their craft. Naruto had learned much from the famous escape artist, including how to pick even more locks than he had thought existed. Although, he still had a lot of problems with locks that had seals inbuilt within them, like those in the Hyuuga compound for instance.

No sign or signal was sent. As one, all the ANBU in the room just dived on top of Naruto, forming a massive dog pile. Some flashing fists could be seen in the middle of the obscured crowd, as well as ninja wire, handcuffs and sealing equipment. There was a couple of under breath swear words and an interruption when one ANBU had to pry Naruto's teeth off of another's arm.

When they finally separated, Naruto was now tied in twice as much ninja wire as he had been rope, his hands were cuffed together behind his back, his feet were also handcuffed together, as well as connected to a ball and chain and he was wearing some kind of face mask/muzzle. He also had a number of seals painted on his person. In contrast, one of the ANBU was handcuffed to another's ankle. Another was somehow wearing a clown mask, the fourth one was missing his chuunin flak jacket and the last was wearing a replica of Gai's spandex suit…in pink. Naruto sighed at the last one. He really did love his new henge skills.

"Subject…secure, Lord Hokage," Wolf repeated, looking around circumspectly for his flak vest.

"Why is it that it took so long to bring the De-," the civilian caught Sarutobi's glare. "Uzumaki before the council?"

The tied up Naruto blinked, then glared at the surrounding ANBU. No one could really understand what he was saying through the muzzle and seals, but the inflection was very clear. He wasn't happy with the ANBU at the moment.

"What did he say?" asked Inoichi.

"I said, none of the ANBU ever told me that I was wanted before the council," Naruto stated as he walked out from the shadows.

The residents of the room blinked, looking from one Naruto, to the one on the floor in front of them. From one, to another. From one- the other burst into smoke, leaving a log in its place.

"And the log said: 'fear not to use me, for I am thy protector'," Naruto quoted.

"Amen," the rest of the shinobi said on reflex.

"Oh, ANBU-san," Naruto held up five different rectangles of leather. "You must have dropped these," he said as he tossed them back their wallets.

"Yo, Wolf. What's a married man need a condom for?"

The ANBU blinked, before opening their wallets, counting up their cash. They looked up to see Naruto counting what was missing. "Finder's fee," he said in an offhand voice. Inside his seal, both Kyuubi and Shinigami were laughing their asses off at the dumbstruck body language of the ANBU in front of them.

The ANBU looked at each other, before slowly nodding in agreement. "Lord Hokage," Lizard said, trying desperately not to look at the rookie in the pink…thing.

"After this meeting is concluded, we of the ANBU would like to speak with you."

Sarutobi nodded his head. "That'll be fine."

Stiff backed, the ANBU marched from the room. "Bye ANBU-san," Naruto waved. "We'll play again another day, okay?" A wail of grief came from someone outside.

* * *

As soon as the door closed, Naruto swept around in a courtly bow. "Lord Hokage, honorable council. My name is Uzumaki Naruto. How may I be of service to you?" he said respectfully and maturely.

Several members of the council fell over in anime style at the boy's complete emotional turn around.

"You could start by telling us why you did not come when summoned demo- Uzumaki!" An unimportant member of the civilian council yelled, angrily.

Naruto shrugged. "I thought that they might have found out…ah, mistakenly accused me of a prank that I didn't commit. You'd be surprised at how many times that has happened."

"One hundred and twenty-six," Sarutobi deadpanned, looking at a note on his desk.

Naruto waved a hand dismissively. "Details, details. They could never prove anything."

"Then why was it that you did not merely state your innocence?" Danzo asked, walking towards him so that their faces were mere inches apart.

Naruto's eyes tightened slightly as he looked at the cripple. Shinigami had told him a lot about the man in front of him. Leader of ROOT, one of the orchestrators of the Uchiha massacre, he was the man who wanted him for nothing but a weapon. But the worst thing that he had done, was steal the Sharingan eyes of numerous Uchiha and use Shisui's eye on Naruto and his friends.

It was because of this man in front of him that he had had to watch Hinata die. His mind quickly went through all the ways that he could kill the man in front of him, right here, right now. Danzo was unprepared, relaxed and overconfident. It would be easy…so very easy. His head was already leaned down. If Naruto grabbed him by the back of his head and fell to the floor, Danzo's jaw would hit the ground at an oblique angle with all of his and Naruto's weight behind the blow. His jaw would shatter, leaving him completely vulnerable to the following rasengan to his head.

It wouldn't be pretty, but it would be instantly fatal. Perhaps a kazeken across his throat would do… Or maybe he should just draw his kunai and stab it up through the soft skin underneath his jaw…no, that wouldn't work. Danzo would be out of the way as soon as he drew the knife. At the moment though, Naruto was pretty fond of the fist to the temple, then driving his kunai through his eye when he was down. It would be fitting in a way.

"_KID!" _Naruto started slightly as Shinigami's voice broke through his bloody thoughts.

"_You can kill the old man later. Not now when you've got so many witnesses. Get your head in the game!"_

Naruto chuckled softly, mentally thanking Shinigami. He was actually feeling a little bit scared of himself right now. The reason why was because he was all but certain that he could actually pull it off. Danzo suspected nothing from him and being forewarned was the only way that he could prevent the attack. Here he was, standing in the middle of a room full of high-class ninja, coldly and logically planning out the death of one of them. He had changed from the oblivious dead last he had once been. Naruto hid behind his mask of idiocy once more and answered Danzo's question.

"Easy," he said with a grin. "They weren't all ANBU. There was some others mixed up with the rest of them as well."

Danzo stilled. Surely, this boy would not have been able to distinguish between normal ANBU and his elite…

"I think one of them called themselves ROOT," Naruto mused thoughtfully. Danzo froze.

"You could tell the difference between them 'cause their breath smelled like shit. Probably from spending too much time kissing ass…" Naruto continued.

"Naruto!" Iruka hissed, stunned that his student would be so cavalier in this situation.

"Oh! Hey Iruka-sensei! How's it going!" Naruto said, a big grin on his face as he waved at the scar-faced Chuunin.

Sarutobi snorted, finding it difficult to keep from laughing out loud at his one time teammate. That should keep him quiet for a while.

"I have a question for Uzumaki-san," Naruto turned to face the unactivated Byakugan of Hiashi, clan Head of the Hyuuga.

"Yes, Hyuuga-sama," Naruto asked, his expression innocent, inwardly swearing. He had forgotten to give the Hyuuga the remedy for that mark he had put on their throats.

"Could you tell me what you know of a man called Yurei?"

Naruto almost smirked. Almost. This would be the first time that he would put some of Shinigami's very specific training into use.

_Flashback_

"_Look kid, there sometimes comes a time in your life, when you will have to lie. And lie convincingly. Usually to a woman," _Shinigami's voice was completely serious.

"**I WONDER IF ARLIA KNOWS ABOUT THIS…" **Kyuubi mused.

"_I will deny everything… Now, when you and that little Hyuuga chick get hitched," _here, Naruto began to splutter uncontrollably. _"Sometimes, she will ask you questions that you really don't want to answer truthfully. That Byakugan gives her an even larger advantage than normal, but if I can lie through my teeth to Arlia, then you sure as hell are going to learn how to lie and not get caught out."_

_Flashback end_

It wasn't that Naruto didn't want Hinata's father to know of his connection to Yurei, but he did want to keep him off balance. That way, he would not be able to begin making too many connections.

"No, Hyuuga-sama. I'm afraid I've never met this Yurei. Who is he? He sounds scary, I don't really like ghosts, they frighten me."

Hiashi sighed. Not once had the boy lied to him. He needed more information on the man who had proven that he could kill them all. Uzumaki seemed to be a dead end.

"I understand Uzumaki-san. Thank you," he sat down once more, whispering quietly under his breath, but not quietly enough for Naruto's enhanced hearing. "They frighten me too."

Naruto barely suppressed a smirk.

"Troublesome, can we get on with the reason for this meeting?" Nara Shikaku asked.

"Quite," Homura agreed.

"Uzumaki, we have summoned you here to ask you a series of questions."

Many of the council nodded. "We are here to speak about the last lesson that was conducted at the academy classrooms," Koharu continued, sternly.

Iruka sweated. He had been unaware that talking of the Uzumaki was so taboo among the council, well, the civilian half at least.

Naruto nodded cheerfully. "So, you giving Iruka a promotion or something? You know, it's really sad that so many of the younger generation know nothing about such important events in Konoha's history. Maybe those lessons should become a part of the curriculum?"

"Quiet demon-spawn! We are unpopular enough with the other nations keeping that bloody red swirl of that wretched clan!" a rather stupid civilian raged at Naruto. "Now that our children know about it, it's going to be even more difficult for that name to disappear!"

Said civilian become the target of a large amount attention, mixed with a small amount of killing intent. Said KI came from almost every single one of the shinobi in the room, yet. Naruto himself was only barely able to prevent himself from adding his won Killing Intent to the others.

"So, that's your plan is it?" he whispered softly, allowing his quiet words to reach all those in the room. "It was the responsibility of the parents to tell of the Uzumaki clan, so that each family could honor them in their own way. Shinobi do not often speak of it, for their shame in failing the Uzumaki burns even to this day. You however, would let the world forget about them, about their sacrifice, so that you can toady up to the other nations? Need I remind you that if it were not for the Uzumaki, Konoha would not be alive today to be able to suck up to those around them?" Naruto's voice was cold, furious.

"We were told that it was a part of the Academy Curriculum that the history of the Uzumaki would be explained," Tsume said quietly, glaring at the civilian.

The civilian sneered, he had felt more KI from his wife. This was because the shinobi in the room were all restraining their output of KI in respect for their setting in the Hokage's office. So, the civilian might be forgiven for his next act of stupidity.

"What do we care for a dead clan? We are alive today and if their being erased helps our relations with the other villages, I'd black out their name myself."

The killing intent in the room spiked to monstrous proportions and this time, Naruto could not resist adding his own to the mix. The civilian target in question could almost feel the hungry gaze of a myriad of beasts as they shifted through the wind surrounding him, he could feel their lust for his blood, for his death and as their form shifted from shape to shape, he could feel them almost begin to charge. Losing control of his bowels in a rather spectacular way, the civilian fainted dead away, falling to a sticky, stinky heap on the ground.

* * *

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked disgustedly at the mess on ground and he wasn't referring to the puddle that was beginning to spread. He pressed the button on his intercom system. "Could you please send Ibiki to the the office, tell him that I have a patient that I would like him to take a look at."

He then turned to glare at the rest of the civilian council. "Is this true?" he asked commandingly. None of the civilians could meet his gaze.

"Iruka," Sarutobi snapped.

Iruka stood to attention. "Yes, Lord Hokage?" he asked tentatively.

"The history of the Uzumaki clan is as of now a mandatory subject for the academy curriculum, is that clear?" Sarutobi's tone left no room for argument. Yet still, some of the civilians started to speak up, only to fall into silence when the Professor gave them the eyeball.

"Yes, Lord Hokage!" Iruka answered, his voice crisp.

"Yay," Naruto cheered.

"There are still some other matters to be discussed," Seikiri Haruno, Sakura's mother spoke out loud, interrupting Naruto's celebration. "Such as how a Chuunin would know an A-Class secret such as the fact that Uzumaki Kushina was present at the defeat of the Kyuubi."

"Actually," Chouza interrupted. "Chouji told me a different story. He said that it was Naruto who knew that part of the story."

Everyone looked at Naruto, who was opening a packet of instant ramen. "What? I haven't eaten since breakfast!"

"How did you know that Kushina was there that night!" Seikiri screeched; Naruto winced, apparently, that was a family trait.

"But, but, my raaaameeeen," Naruto wailed, causing the council to sweat drop.

"Naruto," Iruka interrupted. "Put the ramen down, answer the nice lady's question and I'll take you to Ichiraku's after this is all over."

The instant ramen, which somehow now had boiling water in it, was abruptly thrown out of the office window. Ignoring the howl of pain that came from outside, Naruto paid his full attention to Seikiri.

"Could you repeat the question please Haruno-san?"

"She wanted to know how you knew that Kushina was with the Yondaime when he defeated the Kyuubi."

Naruto shrugged. "There was a file in the ANBU's head office on mom. It gave her place of death."

"How did you know that Kushina was your mother!" Koharu shrieked.

Naruto smirked. "I didn't. You just told me."

Hiruzen glared at his teammate, as the rest of the council looked at Naruto with a new light in their eyes. They had not known that Kushina was Naruto's mother. In hindsight though, it was so obvious. They acted almost exactly alike. But if Kushina was his mother, then who was his father…

"Why were you looking through the ANBU's files, Naruto?" the Third asked, intruding on the thoughts of the council members.

Naruto paled. "Oh, crap. I didn't mean to tell you that. Erm… A friend dared me to pull a prank on someone in the ANBU. There was a bet involved…"

"Can you prove that you were actually in the ANBU's headquarters?" Danzo asked, thinking that he might have got the information from a more…furry source. He was right, but Naruto didn't want _him_ to know that.

"Yeeessss… Ibiki-sama, could I borrow you for a moment?"

Startled, Ibiki appeared from the shadows, where he had been ridding himself of a number of noodles. "Not bad kid, how did you know I was here?" he asked.

Naruto shrugged. "You have a rather unique scent of blood, tears, sweat, shame and fear, none of it yours…and noodles for some reason."

Ibiki nodded. "Yeah, I was walking towards the building when I got hit by a boiling cup of instant ramen."

Naruto nodded sympathetically. "I'm sorry to hear that Ibiki-sama." He had been told by both Shinigami and Kyuubi that it was a very good idea to be on the good side of torture experts, if that meant showing them a little bit of respect, Naruto didn't mind. "It was her fault," Naruto said, pointing at Seikiri. "She didn't want me eating when she was asking me questions."

Ibiki glared at the sputtering pink-haired woman. "So, what did you want me for?"

Naruto shuffled on his feet. "Weeellll, the council here wants me to prove that I broke into the ANBU's headquarters…" Ibiki's eyebrows shot up in a shocked expression. "Don't blame me! It wasn't my fault! Crazy snake lady…" Ibiki nodded slowly, one hand raised to rub his eyes. Yes, Anko would do something like this.

"So, if you could just turn around…" Curious as to what the blond was getting at, Ibiki complied. "And if you could now please remove your headband." Ibiki shrugged and took off his bandanna-like hitai-ite, revealing the horrible scars that crossed his head…and a smiling, bewhiskered face holding up a V-sign drawn in permanent marker.

"Is that enough proof for you?" Naruto asked the council. They just stared at the back of Ibiki's head, amazed that he had actually done something like that.

"So," Naruto turned towards Homura. "Uzumaki Kushina was my mom? Cool! I was just looking for anyone who had Uzumaki in their name! You know, as an orphan, I'm always curious about where I actually come from. I had no idea that I was looking at my mother's file! Why didn't anyone tell me who she was? Do you know who my dad was? Hey wow! That means that Isamu-sama was like my grandfather." Naruto's eyes widened. "HOLY SHIT! That means that I'm the heir of the Uzumaki clan… which means I'm the heir of Uzushiogakure!" Here, he frowned. "What's left of it anyway… Oh well. HAH! Take that Sasuke-teme!"

"Don't talk about Uchiha-sama that way!" roared several mothers from the civilian side.

"Quiet commoners! Don't interrupt me when I'm ranting!" Naruto said imperiously.

"NARUTO!" Iruka barked.

"Er, I mean, my deepest apologies, honorable council members." He looked at Iruka. "Happy now?" Iruka nodded.

"So, do any of you know who my dad is?" he asked, looking around at the council. Several of them would not meet his gaze, most notably the ones that knew his mother. While most of them did not know for certain, they knew who Kushina was always hanging out with. They just hoped it wasn't true, because if it was, then they would have a lot of guilt to take responsibility for.

Naruto shrugged. "Eh, I'll find out later," he promised. "One more question, does anyone know why so much of my kaa-san's file was blacked out?"

"That's classified," Danzo said, staring angrily at Naruto.

"_Hey, kid, the rest of the council seems to be getting their second wind. Good job with keeping them on their toes so far, but right now you might want to take the wind out of their sails before they start with questions that you don't want to answer. The Uzumaki clan funds should do the trick."_

"Hey Jiji?" Naruto said loudly. "Do the Uzumaki have any type of inheritance that I can claim?" At this, the two elder council members and the Third winced. Homura and Koharu were in charge of most of Konoha's funding. The Uzumaki Clan had _not_ been poor and the two of them had inserted all of the clan's wealth into Konoha's economy after Kushina's death. When one took into account that the funds of the Namikaze were under the same name, and thus inseparable, it now accounted for almost twenty five percent of Konoha's entire funding. If that were to suddenly become no longer available…

"Maybe when you're a bit older Naruto," Hiruzen said faintly, dreading the paperwork that would come if Naruto demanded the money now, as was his right. Neither Kushina nor Minato had ever placed any stipulation on when Naruto was to receive his inheritance, they had not had enough time.

At Shinigami's prompting, Naruto continued in this line of thought. "But I could still demand to get it now, couldn't I?"

The council gulped.

Naruto shrugged. "Eh, I'll let it grow in interest for a while longer I guess. It is getting interest, isn't it?" Naruto asked, seriously. Homura and Koharu nodded fervently. It was now. Naruto smiled. "Good, otherwise I would have to put it into a different bank." He grew thoughtful. "Come to think of it, the Land of Fire's National bank gives a five percent interest per annum on savings accounts, provided that no withdrawals are made in the year. Maybe it would be more financially sound to put the Uzumaki clan's savings into one of those accounts… What kind of interest do I get by leaving it with Konoha's banks?"

Sarutobi's old teammates gritted their teeth. "Six percent," they said as one. Naruto smiled. "Cool, I guess that it would be okay to leave it with Konoha then. But you know, I could really use a larger monthly stipend. The amount that I've got now really doesn't give me enough to spend…"

"I'll see to it," Homura said with a death's head grin.

"Thanks!" he turned to the Hokage. "Can Iruka and I go now Jiji? I've got to empty his wallet with ramen bills." Anime tears started streaming down Iruka's face.

"Oh," the blond said before he left the room. "Hyuuga-sama?"

Hiashi turned towards the boy and reflexively caught the vial of a clear substance that Naruto threw at him.

"What is this?" he questioned.

Naruto smirked. "Mix it with about ten liters of water. Yurei said that the resulting solution would wash out those marks with no problem whatsoever."

Hiashi's eyes widened. The boy had lied to him. To him! Just before he left the room, another voice stopped him.

"Excuse me Uzumaki," Naruto turned and faced Inoichi.

"Every month, several Jonin come together to play a game of poker. They are allowed to bring along a guest. We would very much like it if you would come along as our guest," Shikaku answered for his friend.

Naruto smiled. "This Thursday, right?"

Inoichi blinked. "How did you-?"

"I thank you for the offer Inoichi-san, Shikaku-san, but I have already accepted an invitation from Anko-san. I'll see you there."

* * *

As soon as the door closed, chaos broke out in the room. Almost everyone had a different opinion on what had gone on, or were questioning what had just happened. The first question to be answered, however, was asked by Haruno Seikiri whose shrieking voice could be heard even over the rest of the din.

"SIX PERCENT! WHY DOES THAT LITTLE PUNK GET SUCH A HIGH INTEREST RATE! WE ONLY GET FOUR PERCENT PER ANNUM!"

She began ranting about how unfair it was and how the Hokage was playing favorites. It continued in this manner for a while, until Hiruzen looked pleadingly at Koharu. Smiling slightly, the female kunoichi placed two fingers in her mouth and let loose a piercingly loud whistle. Everybody quieted down and looked at her. "If you would calm down, I am sure that we can answer most of your questions.'

"Starting with Haruno-san's question," Homura said. "The reason why Uzumaki is getting such a high interest rate is because if he withdrew the entirety of the Uzumaki fortune from Konoha, he could literally destroy our economy."

As one, the council blinked.

Sighing, Homura explained. "The Uzumaki clan was, to put it lightly, filthy rich. Almost every single member saved as much as they could. They were literally royalty in Uzishiogakure and were almost entirely self-sufficient. Then remember the long lives that they had. Some had been saving cash for over a hundred years. They were also once a very large clan, very organized. When the genocide occurred, they left all of their treasure sealed in the same scroll that had sealed the memories of their deaths. All of it went to Kushina. And when she died, it all went into Konoha's banks…if her son were to withdraw that amount…" Homura shuddered. "It doesn't bear thinking about."

"DO YOU THINK I CARE!" Seikiri shrieked. "THE MERCHANT FAMILY OF HARUNO HAS FOUR PERCENT OF KONOHA'S ENTIRE FORTUNE! IF WE DO NOT GET AN EQUAL DEAL, THEN WE WILL TAKE OUR MONEY ELSEWHERE!"

Hiashi raised his eyebrows. Four percent of an entire city's budget was a vast amount of cash, especially when you took into account that it belonged to an ordinary civilian. Of course, the Hyuuga clan had more, but-.

"And the Uzumaki's funds account for a full quarter of Konoha's funding, so please, Haruno-san," Koharu said, losing her patience with the woman. "I say this with all possible respect. Shut. Up."

Seikiri gaped like a fish. "More than that," Sarutobi sighed. The council turned to him as one.

"What?" asked Danzo.

"We owe them a lot more than that."

A civilian waved his hand impatiently. "Yes, yes, their great sacrifice, blah, blah, blah." He winced at the glares directed at him by the others.

"I meant in monetary value," Sarutobi said, humorously.

"In Konoha, we use a great number of Uzumkai seals. Seals for early warning, seals for privacy, seals to prevent disease, seals to strengthen buildings, seals for protection, seals for storage, heck, we even use seals to help us keep our food fresh. We did not buy those seals from the Uzumaki."

"What?" Koharu and Homura said, paling. They remembered now.

"The deal was that we would pay the Uzumaki for every year that these seals still functioned. As of yet, not a single one of them has failed. If Naruto were to put his money into the Land of Fire's national bank, they would inform him that Konoha was thirteen years behind payments for the use of those seals. The interest alone for such a thing would be…"

"Troublesome?" Shikaku supplied.

Sarutobi nodded. That was as good a use of the word as any.

"Alright…so, we know why Naruto gets his heap of cash. Why were none of us informed of his heritage?" Aburame Shibi asked. Many faces turned to the bug clan's head. It was not often that he spoke in a meeting.

The third shrugged. "He's the son of the Last of the Scarlet Warrior's. If that got out, who knows how many assassination attempts would have been made against him."

"Who was his father?" Hiashi asked suddenly.

"That's classified," Sarutobi, Koharu, Homura and Danzo spoke as one. Hiashi nodded, his suspicions all but confirmed. He was now certain that he knew who the Namikaze heir that Yurei had spoken of was.

It was highly likely that the man was training Naruto as well. Just look at the way that he had handled the council. He had kept them waiting, making them irritable, less likely to think straight. He had thrown them off guard with his cavalier treatment of the ANBU, then his suddenly mature façade. He had constantly changed his call signs, going from clan heir, to prankster, to skilled ninja, to nervous individual, to excitable child, never staying still long enough for anyone to pin him down. He had kept them off balance with his escapades with the ANBU, his knowledge of ROOT, making Koharu reveal the identity of his mother, his prank on the head torture expert of Konoha, and then, reminding everyone in the room of his social status. Hiashi shook his head. Uzumaki had been called here to be judged and had walked out of the room better off. He had played them all and Hiashi wasn't sure how many of them even realized it.

"What about his breaking into the ANBU's headquarters?" Danzo demanded.

"What about his mentioning of a ROOT program?" Ibiki countered, his bandanna now firmly back on his head.

"We will have to look into that," Sarutobi mused, glancing at Danzo out of the corner of his eye. He knew of the program and speculated that it was not quite as over as Danzo made it out to be. Despite this, Danzo had a lot of political pull and so the Hokage could not make any overt moves against him without any proof. Proof, which Naruto had just handed to him… At this stage though, he would not totally disband the ROOT program. He acknowledged that there were some things better left in the shadows. But he had been given an opportunity to monitor it and he would seize that with both hands.

"As for his breaking into the ANBU's headquarters, I would say that it shows that we may need a little bit more security, wouldn't you?"

Ibiki grimaced. "Hai, Lord Hokage."

* * *

There were a few more questions asked and answered before the Third dismissed the council. Sighing, he refilled his pipe and opened a secret drawer in his desk to take out a very special book with a bright orange color. Sighing, he leaned back and tried to unwind. He felt that he deserved it after that.

A loud knock came from the door to his office. The Professor immediately jumped, sending his book to the ground as he lost his grip on it.

"Enter," he called, after placing his student's book back in its drawer.

He blinked as Wolf, Lizard, Hawk and Cat walked into the room. These four were some of his highest-ranking ANBU.

"Lord Hokage," the ANBU said, kneeling to the ground.

"Rise," he stated, silently hoping that whatever this was about, it would not cause him any more paperwork.

"What can I do for my loyal ANBU?" the old man said warmly.

As one, the ANBU looked at each other, then nodded. With a flourish, Wolf drew a large piece of paper from behind his back and placed it on the Hokage's desk.

"This is a petition," Wolf began. "Signed by a grand total of over two hundred individual ANBU, asking for a pay raise."

Sarutobi blinked, looking over the piece of paper. He had not been expecting this.

"I am sorry to inform you, Lord Hokage," Yugao, Cat, said and indeed, she did sound regretful, but no less resolute, "that if these demands are not met, then all those who have signed here have agreed to go on strike."

The Third Hokage started in surprise. The ANBU were the elite, they followed orders to the letter, performed missions that no one else would dare attempt. And now they were threatening him with going on strike?

"You can't do that!" he exploded. "You're the ANBU! ANBU don't go on strike! Such a thing has never happened in the history of Konoha!"

"With all due respect, sir," Lizard said stiffly. "None of the ANBU before us ever had to deal with the same extenuating circumstances."

"Extenuating circumstances?" Sarutobi said sarcastically. "Pray tell me, what extenuating circumstances would cause two hundred of Konoha's most loyal shinobi to ask for a pay raise."

"Uzumaki Naruto," Hawk responded, quickly and promptly, the word coming through clenched teeth, although that may have been due to the syrupy substance that gummed his teeth together.

The God of Shinobi stared at each of the ANBU in turn, before allowing his head to hit the desk with a loud thud. That boy would be the death of him.

* * *

AN

That's a wrap people. For now at least. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, finally got that flashback with Arlia and Hinata done. Cyber cookie to any who know what the Gentle Way is. Next Chapter: Well, you'll just have to wait and see. Meaning that this story is still writing itself at the moment, so I can't guarantee squat. Thanks again to hinatasgreatestfan for editing this chapter, he makes a lot better, but come on guys, two chaps in under a week, you've gotta give me props for that! One more thing, I've got a poll running on whether or not I should do a one shot on the Uzumaki clan's last stand. If I get enough interest in it, then I think it'd be worth writing. Anyway, by now you guys all know the drill. Read, enjoy, press the button at the bottom of this window and review! Praising the log is also optional.

TwiceMarked out.


	14. A Busy Day

AN You know, I bet you people thought that you would have to wait until next month before I got this out. Fortunately, this is not the case, as my beta reader, hinatasgreatestfan, face this monster of a chapter without flinching and broke it down like a pro. As for the long wait, I'd like to blame exams and the fact that there are too many good authors on FF writing good stories. Glad you guys liked the crack in the last chapter. I kinda needed to get it out of my system. There's not quite as much in this chappie though. But, since I know that you guys don't really want to waste your time reading a boring old AN, let's get straight to the story!

Disclaimer: Kisimoto refuses to bet his rights to Naruto in a poker game. Dammit.

* * *

Chapter 13

A Busy Day

The brown haired preteen gulped audibly as he faced his opponent. Squaring off against each other, the two of them made the sign for combat and got into the academy taijutsu stance. Well, one of them had gotten into their taijutsu stance. His opponent, the boy in front of him, just stood there with his hands in his pockets, glaring slightly at him. The adolescent with the brown hair swallowed nervously, thinking to himself once again that it had been an incredibly foolish idea to start bullying Hinata Hyuuga once again.

Looking at the one he was facing, he somehow knew that he had absolutely no chance of beating him. He was right. Iruka called out the traditional "Hajime!"

"Yes?" Hajime answered.

Iruka sighed and shook his head. "Just go already."

There was a small cloud of dust as battle was joined. However, despite his best efforts, Hajime had yet to make his opponent take his hands out of his pockets, which were placed just below the jacket tied around the blond's waist. Frustrated, Hajime struck out with a wild left-left-right combo. As before, the uncoordinated movements were dodged with apparent ease. Iruka shook his head at the sight of it. Too many of his students did not take their training seriously and the result of it was evident in the sloppy moves of the attacking student. However, Iruka had also been surprised by the marked improvement of the second student.

Naruto sighed, not really thinking about the 'fight' he was currently participating in. Today was the poker day and according to Shinigami, he was bound to win at least a little bit more cash than what he started out with.

_Flashback_

"_Come on, kid, you mean that you haven't noticed just how lucky you really are?"_ Shinigami stated, looking at Naruto incredulously. Arlia, who was visiting at the time, just laughed at him.

Naruto glared at him, as he was getting ready for another day at the academy. "Lucky? Me? Well, let me see…" Naruto collapsed onto his bed as he began to list his many woes. It was a long list. "On the day of my birth, the village was attacked by a vicious, mangy Demon Fox; bent on the utter annihilation of my home-"

"**I TAKE OFFENSE AT THAT MANGY COMMENT," **Kyuubi interrupted mildly.

His attitude had improved a lot since they had gone back in time, apparently, not being stuck in a cage with the floor covered in excessively stagnant water with no one to talk to and nothing to do for years at a time could do wonders for your emotional state. According to Shinigami, though, the Kitsune had been developing an almost unhealthy love for first person shooters.

"Sorry, Kyuu. No offense meant. Where was I? Oh yes. Said Nine Tailed demon fox causes the death of many of the people belonging to this village. In order to stop it-"

"**HIM," **the fox interjected. Naruto continued without taking pause for breath.

"Him, from destroying the entire village, my dad decides to seal him within a baby's gut. Unfortunately, my mother was also needed to help with the sealing, resulting in both of their deaths. And the baby that was chosen for this, was me," Naruto stopped to take a breath. "I understand dad's reasoning for choosing me, I accept that, but it doesn't mean I have to like it. Dad's last wish was that I be treated as a hero. Yeah…that didn't work out and I really don't feel like going in to all that right now. Suffice to say, that instead, the village decided that _I_ was Kyuubi and hated my guts, because of what was sealed inside my gut. Not to mention that because of said fox, and a hastily made seal, my chakra control absolutely sucked." At this, Arlia turned to her husband and glared at him. Shinigami chuckled nervously. Naruto, however, stopped to draw a large breath of air.

Now putting his hand in the air, he began ticking things off one by one. "I was never able to make any friends. The girl I liked thought I was a waste of space. I was entered into a team where the instructor hardly taught me anything, at first. My first C-ranked mission had me and my team facing off against the bloody Demon of the Bloody Mist." Halting for a moment, he moved on to his other hand.

"Neither of my team mates wanted much to do with me. I end up making one of my first friends in Haku, who dies in front of me, killed by my own sensei. I go through the Chuunin Exam and find out that most of my taijutsu training from the academy is pretty much useless. Although," his gaze turned pensive here, "maybe that was just Lee." He shrugged.

"Anyway, my best friend, who has only just started to respect me, goes and gets a cursed hicky from Pedomaru and goes all mental…" Naruto continued in this vein of speech for a good ten minutes, dealing with things such as perverts, Tsunade, the misuse of chidori, perverts, being unable to control Kyuubi's chakra effectively, the Akatsuki also took a large part of the rant, perverts and Ero-sennin.

"But worst of all," here Naruto grew sober, "worst of all, I never understood how Hinata felt for so long. Worst of all, I had to watch her die, when it was my fault and I could do nothing to help her. Tell me, Shinigami-_sama_," his tone of voice here was a bit scathing for the Death God's taste, but he would let it slide…for now.

"Where in all of this am I supposed to find out that I'm a lucky person?"

Arlia frowned. "You know Gami-kun, Sweetie over there does have a point. Maybe it's Karma?" she suggested.

Shinigami just rubbed his forehead. _"Naruto?"_

"Yeah?"

"_Pick up a handful of coins."_

Frowning, Naruto reached for Gama-chan and poured the wallet's contents out into his hands, being careful to put the notes back in. he had long ago decided that listening to Shinigami, when he was being serious, was the smartest choice of action. "Alright, now what?"

"_Throw them into the air and call out, heads, or tails."_

Figuring that there could be no harm in it, Naruto shrugged and threw the thirteen coins up into the air over a table.

"Heads."

He looked on expressionlessly as the first coin stopped bouncing and landed with heads showing. The expression on his face slowly grew to astonishment as the second, third, and fourth coins all showed heads. Ten seconds later, he was crawling under the bed to find the thirteenth and final coin. Heads.

Shinigami smiled. _"The god of luck is a friend of mine and I could see that he has his hands on you. Sure, your luck may not hold for everyday life, but for gambling and such? Kid, you may almost be the new Prince of Ravens."_

"Who?" Naruto asked.

Shinigami shrugged. _"A moniker that arguably the luckiest man in the multiverse became known by."_

Naruto grinned. He liked the sound of this.

_Flashback end_

'Oh, shoot,' Naruto thought, seeing the incoming fist that he had not been paying enough attention to dodge. That would teach him not to do so much daydreaming in the middle of a fight. Even so, Naruto's instincts served him well. Twisting his body to the right caused the fist, which would have landed a solid hit to his chest, to simply glance off, sending his opponent, who had over committed on the punch, stumbling forward.

Naruto remembered well the lesson that Kakashi had told him on his first day as a Genin. Never let your opponent get behind you. Hands still in his pockets, Naruto kicked out at the back of the enemy's knee, causing him to crumple to his knees. The motion provided a rather tempting target and Naruto simply could not resist. Normally, he would not be tempted, but he had found this one pushing Hinata around. He was about to put a stop to it, when Hinata had just calmly walked away. The bully had jeered and catcalled at her, but Iruka had been on hand to put a stop to it before he could. Naruto had been so proud of Hinata though. Once upon a time, someone doing that would have left her in tears, not now however.

Naruto frowned at that thought. Odds were then, at some time, this boy _had _left Hinata in tears before. _"Most likely,"_ Shinigami agreed. Scowling, Naruto drew back his foot.

Despite the grin on his face, Kiba winced at the thundering _boot_ that connected with the other boy's rear. His eyes widened however, when the boy actually left the ground for a short time, tracing a graceful parabolic path in the air, before coming back to earth with a thump outside of the combat circle, his face leaving a small groove in the dirt. That had to hurt. Kiba had seen the boy bullying Hinata and had also seen that Naruto was watching. In an uncharacteristically smart move, Kiba, instead of trying to sort out the matter himself, had called Iruka to the scene. Besides, there had been something in the way that Naruto had walked towards the two of them that had reminded him of the way a wolf stalked his prey, or perhaps a fox.

"Winner, Uzumaki Naruto," Iruka proclaimed.

"Well done, N-Naruto-k-kun," Hinata congratulated.

Naruto grinned. "Thanks Hinata-chan!"

Iruka shook his head as he watched the two children interact with each other. Naruto had changed after that day at the council. Not in character, but in the way he acted. Since that day, he had given his all in every physical exercise that the academy students competed in. And he had won. Repeatedly. He was now arguably one of the best taijutsu fighters in the academy, even better than several of the clan heirs! Unfortunately, though, this new success did not carry over into his academic studies. Hinata had greatly improved as well, on all grounds.

This may have had something to do with the fact that no one dared bully the girl anymore. It used to be a regular occurrence, but now, if that happened, Naruto would request to have the next spar with them. He did not go out of his way to hurt them, but he did do something that was arguably worse…he humiliated them. Like today, when he had done the entire spar without even using his hands. And Iruka still could not recognize that style! It was starting to get most annoying. In the distance, the bell rang. Immediately, the students started getting ready to go home. He blinked however, when Kiba approached Naruto and Hinata. Normally, the Inuzuka would be one of the first ones to disappear. Stealthily, Iruka moved in to eavesdrop.

"What happened to you, Naruto?" Kiba asked curiously. Shikamaru, who had been close enough to hear the question, immediately swung around to a stop. He had been pondering the same question for a while now. Literally overnight, Naruto became able to defeat kids who would have previously beat the stuffing out of him.

"What do you mean, Kiba?" Naruto asked, grinning stupidly. He and Kiba had been sort of friends back in the academy days, meaning now. Naruto gave a mental sigh. Even now, this time travel thing was still confusing.

Kiba rolled his eyes. No, he was still an idiot. "I mean, where did you learn how to fight like that?"

"Ano, b-but, Naruto-k-kun has known how t-to fight for a l-long t-time," Hinata interrupted.

Chouji, who had stopped when Shikamaru had done so, looked at the Hyuuga, slightly embarrassed. He was a kind boy at heart and did not want to point out that Hinata had always thought that the blond could do more than he really could.

Kiba, however, was a little bit brasher. "No offense Hinata, but-"

"It's true." Everyone in hearing range, except for Naruto and Hinata gave a small gasp of surprise as Sasuke actually voluntarily spoke comprehensible words besides the normal 'hn.' At least, all the normal people did. The fangirls, however, just swooned.

"Remember, about a week ago? Hinata had arrived late to the academy and Naruto got really e-"

"If you say emo, Sasuke, I _will_ put my foot up your…" the rest of Naruto's threat was drowned out by the angry screams of Sasuke's fangirls.

Ignoring the howls of the spawn of hell, as he liked to call them, Sasuke continued. "Naruto got really angsty, then Mizuki made him fight against that big oppressor, who got his ass handed to him. Apparently because he had pissed Naruto off."

"I concur, the moves that Naruto-san displayed, while highly unorthodox, were undeniably effective and showed evidence of Naruto-san being exceedingly proficient in their every nuance," surprisingly, Shino had also joined in the conversation.

Kiba just blinked at the bug boy. That was more words in a single sentence that he had ever heard him utter. And yet… "Translation, please?"

" It's such a drag having to explain this, Naruto's fighting style, althoug crude, was able to beat the other kid's and it looked as if Naruto was quite practiced in it."

Shino frowned. "I just said that."

"Yes and no, Shino. Yes and no," Shikamaru said with a slight smile.

They were interrupted by the loud growl of what sounded like a ferocious beast. Everyone stared in surprise mixed with awe at Naruto's stomach, which had just emitted the noise. Naruto rubbed the back of his head and chuckled slightly. "Do you reckon we can carry on talking over lunch? I'm starving."

That proved to be no problem whatsoever for the others. Apart from Sasuke, who merely pointed at 'the Horde.'

"All that Naruto needs to do, is get rid of the annoyances," Sasuke said, smirking at Naruto's glare, before slowly paling as a truly evil expression took over his face.

"OI! Fangirls!" he yelled. Murder glinted in their eyes. Naruto carried on with a seemingly rather large disregard for his own personal safety. "Yeah, I'm talking to you, you useless excuses for kunoichi! You-"

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata scolded.

Naruto sighed and got to the point. They were getting close enough for him to see the whites of their eyes anyways. "I have genuine Sasuke merchandise for sale!"

At this, all of the young females sat up and took notice. Sasuke however, had a horrified look on his face. "What are you doing you dobe!"

"That's right! Come one, come all! I, Uzumaki Naruto, have recently obtained Sasuke's very own _used_ bath towel! Think about it ladies! This is the very towel that Sasuke used to dry off with after he's had a shower!" At this point, Naruto decided to forgo any more advertising. If he continued, then it was possible that he might well drown in the amount of drool that the rabid females were producing. "And all that you have to do to get a piece of this limited edition item, is to have your ryo ready and talk to my business associate, Mitarashi Anko!"

Iruka's face paled to the color of a white sheet as he heard the name of just who Naruto's 'business associate,' was. For perhaps half a second, he debated leaving his cover to try and stop…which was half a second too long, as the girls had already stampeded out of the gate. Iruka groaned out loud, hoping that they would not find the….ahhhh, 'rough' kunoichi. Somehow, he doubted it.

"So, who's up for ramen?" Naruto said, a grin threatening to find its way to his face.

* * *

In the end, every member of what would become the rookie 9 went to eat 'the food of he gods,' Ino and Sakura included. Apparently, Ino had had Anko pointed out to her by her father as…well, herself. Needless to say, the blonde kept what she thought was a healthy distance from the snake summoner. And even though she and Sakura were rivals, Ino had proven incapable of leaving her to her fate. A fact that Sakura proved extremely grateful for, sometime after Naruto had laughingly stopped their group for the fifth time to give way for a group of crying, screaming fangirls fleeing for their lives from a large, apparently hungry, snake.

Several ANBU had already investigated this occurrence, but had promptly let the matter drop after Anko had said that it was Naruto's idea of a training exercise.

Ino and Sakura shivered, deciding to increase the berth that they usually gave Anko. "Besides," Ino whispered. "We've already got a piece of his towel."

Sakura nodded. Inner Sakura voiced her thoughts. 'CHAA! Mine's bigger than yours Ino-pig!'

Sasuke blanched, resolving to change the locks on his doors…again.

Ten minutes later, they were all seated at the ramen stand, Naruto and Chouji glaring daggers of challenge at each other.

"Hey, old man Teuchi! Keep'em coming will ya? This here is going to be a battle!"

Chouji skillfully twirled both chopsticks in his hands, over his knuckles, between his fingers and even over the back of his hand, ending with them held in a perfect ready position. "Feed me! If you dare!"

Sakura and Ino looked on disgustedly as Naruto and Chouji wolfed down bowl after bowl of the noodle dish. Kiba had joined in, but not nearly to the same extent. Shikamaru and Shino's curiosity, however, would not be distracted. Even if the distraction was some _damned_ good ramen.

"Troublesome, so, Naruto, where did you learn how to fight like that?" Shikamaru asked.

Naruto paused to take a large swallow, wondering absentmindedly what their reaction would be if he told them that he had been taught by the God of Death. "The streets," he said, casually, before attacking another bowl of ramen. Best to keep the prospect of divine intervention out of it.

The other academy students, aside from Hinata, blinked. That had not been the answer that they had been expecting.

"Huh?" asked Kiba, comprehensively.

Naruto chewed thoughtfully. "I don't use a style, so much as a way of thinking. The human body has a lot of weak spots. When you're…little, like me and you fight a lot of big guys, then you learn where those weak spots are, or you get beaten to a pulp." He didn't mention that often, you learnt exactly where those weak points were by _getting _beaten to a pulp.

Kiba snorted. "Weak points huh? What's that going to do when you come across a Jonin? I still think you need a proper style."

Naruto nodded. "Don't worry, Kiba, I'm working on it. Besides, the cool thing about my way of fighting is that pretty much nobody ever expects it! Besides, an elite Jonin could probably take on hundreds of civilians all at once. But all it takes to stop said ninja is a civilian giving him one good old kick to the balls."

Instinctively, all the guys in hearing range, including Teuchi, either crossed their legs, or cupped themselves.

"After that, you've pretty much already won."

Shino snorted. "I ask your forgiveness, Uzumaki-san, for finding your rather abrupt, although undeniably succinct explanation to be insufficient, but it seems to me as though there may be more to your brawling style than what you have admitted."

Naruto just stared at Shino, smiling, although his grin twitched every now and then, his eyes were glazed over and a vacant expression adorned his face.

Shino sighed and decided he needed to 'dumb it down.'

"That's not all there is to the way you fight, there is something that you are not telling us."

Naruto's expression cleared. "Oh! Why didn't you say so?" He got up and moved around the table, motioning Shino to follow him.

"It's really all about the combos, get it? Right, the weak points of the body include the eyes, joints, groin, ears, nose, kidneys and throat, not to mention other internal organs." Naruto turned to the others. "With me so far?"

Everyone nodded.

"Right! Now, if I go for the eyes-"

Naruto threw a lightning fast jab at Shino's eyes. Immediately, the bug-user instinctively moved back, going into the limbo position. Therefore, he didn't see Naruto hook his foot around the back of knee and pull, sending the already overbalanced boy crashing to the floor. Or he would have, if Naruto had not caught his flailing arm and pulled him back to his feet. Naruto grinned at Shino, unashamedly.

"So, let's demonstrate that without a volunteer this time."

Watching Naruto once more, explaining it as he did so, they could see what would have happened.

"The strike with jagged fingers at the eyes forces the opponent to instinctively protect their vision. But by leaning back, Shino was unable to see me, leaving himself both open and off balance. The next step is to get them on the ground. The trip," Naruto explained, "would have resulted in Shino ending up either on his back or on his rump. Either way, the foot that had just caused the trip would still be in the air, where a kick, or just a heavy _stomp_ would end the fight."

Shikamaru shook his head. Already, he could see several ways of getting out of the situation and a key factor of it was that you had to be at least as fast as the guy you were fighting, or catch them off guard. But still…

"What happened to the dead-last?" he asked.

Naruto shifted uncomfortably.

"He's actually still here. I still can't get the academic stuff or the bunshin no jutsu to work. As long as those are a no go, I'm failing at the graduation test."

Shikamaru waved away his concerns. "Plenty of time before then. What about all this new stuff?"

Naruto shrugged. "I just learnt a whole lot about my clan. I don't want to dishonor their memory, so I decided to try a bit harder, train a bit harder, you know?"

Sasuke nodded. He understood.

"Oi! Chouji! You could have waited for me!" Naruto yelled, before resuming his eating contest with the pleasingly plump individual.

At the end of their meal, they tallied up their count. Ino and Sakura hadn't even finished their first bowl. The two girls were dieting so that they could 'maintain their 'figure' and impress 'their Sasuke-kun.' Shikamaru had eaten two bowls, stating that any more would have been too 'troublesome.' Sasuke had eaten four bowls, all the while never losing his temper again at Naruto's act with his bath towel. Well, never losing it again, after Naruto had threatened to place a henge on him to make him look exactly like the blond before throwing him to the Dog. And Wolf. And Lizard. And Cat. And Hawk. And…well, suffice to say, he wore a smile on his face, seemingly enjoying the outing, although the smile started to become pained when Sakura and Ino almost swooned at the sight of it.

Surprisingly, Shino had brought this swooning matter to a halt when he greeted the nonexistent Anko, nodding to the thin air behind them. When the girls turned around with a start, he stated blithely that she had just left. Also surprisingly, Shino had equaled Sasuke's four bowls of ramen, yet no one had really seen him eat. Kiba had, almost literally, wolfed down a total of seven bowls. This paled in comparison to Chouji's massive fifteen bowls. He had been quite disappointed when Naruto proved to be a greater ramen consumer once he had beaten Choji by a full four bowls. But the greatest surprise of all had been when they asked Hinata how many bowls she had eaten.

"Twenty," Hinata said demurely. She had at first been worried about what Naruto would think of her if she ate so much, but Arlia had reassured her, saying that Naruto would find it hilarious that she could eat more than him. And indeed he proved the Goddess right. Holding Hinata's arm high in the air, and ignoring her attempts to bury her red face under the collar of her jacket, Naruto proceeded to proclaim her as the winner. After which, he continued to trash talk all of the others on her behalf.

He had found it hilarious just the other day as well. After much searching and questioning, Hinata had eventually found Naruto after the council meeting. Although, she was still not entirely sure why whenever she had asked an ANBU where Naruto was, they began to twitch uncontrollably before they made the sign of the Log, as if to ward off evil, seemingly unconsciously.

She had eventually found her crush dragging off Iruka to this very restaurant. Although she had been somewhat hesitant, she had asked if she could join them, after Arlia had told her to "Get that pretty little ass in gear and join them. NOW!" Iruka had been somewhat hesitant at first, at least until Naruto had spoken up for her.

_Flashback_

"Awh, come on, Iruka-sensei! You'll like Hinata-chan. She's nice!" Iruka wondered absentmindedly if the red of Hinata's face could be classified as 'day-glo.'

"Unless…" Naruto gasped dramatically. "You don't like Hinata-chan! Do you?"

Iruka shifted uncomfortably. "Naruto…it's not that it's just that…"

"Hinata," Arlia's voice cracked like a whip. "Secret Women's art Number 4!"

As Iruka turned to meet Hinata's gaze, he found her looking up at him with eyes that grew more and more round, seemingly taking up half her face. Tears started to brim at the bottom of those lavender pools, making them shine with reflected light. Hinata's hands were clasped just underneath her chin as she stifled a sniff.

Iruka felt absolutely wretched. However, I was all that Naruto could do not to glomp the girl with a yell of 'kawai!'

Inside Naruto's mindscape, Shinigami had started to beat his head against the cold iron bars of Kyuubi's cage. Thud. _"Ow." _Thud. _"Ow." _Thud._ "Ow."_

Kyuubi watched on, impressed. **"I DON'T SEE WHAT THE PROBLEM IS. ALL IN ALL, I'D SAY THAT IS ONE OF THE MORE EFFECTIVE USES OF THE PUPPY-EYES NO JUTSU I'VE EVER SEEN."**

"_You know how lately we've been wondering where Arlia keeps on going off to?"_

"…"

**Thud. "OW." Thud…**

Back in the real world, Iruka caved in and nodded determinedly. "Alright! Hinata, you can come with us. Heck! I just got paid today, so I'll let you both eat as much as you want." He winced slightly as he said that, but he had more than enough cash for Naruto and besides, Hinata was a tiny thing, she probably didn't eat much at all.

Arlia chuckled, reading the teachers thoughts from his body language. "Poor fool."

_Flashback end_

Laughing as he called her the "Reigning Ramen Champion," Naruto grinned at Hinata. "I'm going to take that title back from you Hinata! We'll have to come back together sometime, okay?"

Hinata nodded fervently. "I-I'd like that, N-Naruto-kun!"

'Maybe if I let him win, then he might like me more!'

Inside her mindscape, Arlia smiled indulgently. Sure, she was already being trained to kill, but Hinata was still a child, filled with childish thoughts.

"Maybe he will, Hinata, maybe he won't. But if you _do_ beat him again, then he'll take you out again to try and defeat you once more."

Hinata let a slow smile come to her lips. All in all, she decided to go with the decision that would cause Naruto to take her out for meals more often.

As the children left the ramen stand, laughing happily together, they left behind a rather thoughtful, rather richer Teuchi.

"Ayame?" he asked his daughter.

"Yes, father?"

"That girl, Hinata…she and Naruto are close?"

Ayame nodded, smiling after the pair indulgently. "They are father. Hinata is Naruto's very best friend, I think. It's good for him to have a friend like that don't you think?"

"Yes, yes," Teuchi said thoughtfully, and indeed, he meant it. Naruto was almost family to him, but right now, the businessman was thinking about something else, namely, the future. Frowning thoughtfully, he tossed the not insubstantial roll of ryo up and down in one hand. Even so, this one was smaller than the one that the weeping Iruka had handed over to him just a couple of days ago. Apparently, Naruto had been summoned to the council and Iruka had promised him as much ramen as he could eat if he behaved himself. Hinata had been there as well. He was still not entirely sure what Hinata had been doing there.

Ayame leaned in close and whispered conspiratorially to her father. "In fact, I think it would probably be safe to say that Hinata has a bit of a crush on our Naruto." She smiled happily, thinking that the two of them would eventually make a rather cute couple.

A grin widened on Teuchi's features. "Is that so?" he drew out the words, nice and long. Ayame nodded enthusiastically.

"Only, don't tell either of them I said so," she said, worriedly. Her father, however, did not hear her. Visions of pale eyed, blond haired children eating staggeringly huge amounts of ramen seemed to float into Teuchi's view, throwing bills of ryo like confetti that rained down to the ground all around Teuchi.

The sun started to glint off Teuchi's white teeth. Sure, they might be too young to think of such things right now, but in a few years…

"A nice, private booth, maybe a couple of roses…hmm, I wonder whether or not I could hire a good a violin player." Oh, yes…he'd be set for life!

* * *

Unaware of Teuchi's matchmaking ways, Hinata was standing with Naruto as he talked to Sasuke.

"Right, before we get started, you need to learn how to climb trees…"

A few hours later, after scraping the exhausted and unconscious Sasuke off the ground, they proceeded to carry him home. Well, Naruto did most of the carrying. Hinata used her Byakugan to make sure that they could avoid any fangirls that might still be on the hunt. Naruto was sure that they would be quick and able to sniff out Sasuke's present exhaustion. And besides, it wasn't as if he could just leave him there on the ground. Even after he had turned out to be a bigger teme than Naruto had thought possible, he did not deserve such a fate.

Crawling around behind a stack of boxes, Ami and three other girls from Naruto's academy class suddenly sneezed violently, causing the boxes to topple to the ground. They stared fearfully into the eyes of the large snake that they had previously been hidden from. The screams reverberated throughout the entirety of Konoha.

"Ah," Anko said. "Music to my ears."

Naruto and Hinata gaped when they came to the front door of Sasuke's place.

"Big…" Naruto said.

Hinata nodded. She was not sure that she had ever seen so many different locks on a single door. Sasuke's door was a large steel affair that all in all looked strong enough to withstand several exploding tags.

Arlia whistled. "Do you think all of this is to stop the fangirls from getting him?" she asked Hinata curiously.

Hinata shrugged helplessly.

Arlia chuckled. "I wonder what Naruto would have done if he had found out about his own personal stalker?"

Hinata blushed. "It wasn't stalking," she mumbled.

"Huh? What was that Hinata-chan?"

"Eep! N-Nothing N-Naruto-kun!"

Naruto shrugged, before carrying Sasuke over to one of the side windows. Drawing a thin bladed knife from somewhere about his person, he slid it into the small gap between the windows and pushed up, lifting the latch. This done, it was an easy enough chore to open the windows and shove Sasuke inside. Naruto did not even flinch at the small thud that Sasuke's body made as it hit the floor. Turning around, Naruto and Hinata both took their leave.

They were just about to go their separate ways when Hinata, after a lot of badgering from Arlia, plucked up the courage to ask him a question.

"N-Naruto-kun?"

"Hai, Hinata-chan?" Naruto was curious at what Hinata was about to say. She had lately gotten a lot better with her stuttering, but it still occurred whenever she got overly nervous.

Hinata blushed a bright tomato red. "Now, ask him!" Arlia commanded.

"W-W-Would y-you like to w-walk h-home with m-me?" she stuttered.

Naruto grinned wholeheartedly. "I'd love to Hinata-chan."

Hinata blushed a brighter red. "Now ask him if he'll walk you home without his shirt on," Arlia prodded.

"Eep!"

Arlia sighed, at the same time chuckling slightly to herself. "I know, I really shouldn't, but sometimes it's just too _easy!"_

Naruto scratched his head, wondering why Hinata had suddenly just fainted like that. It had all been fine, she had been smiling gently at him when he had accepted her offer and then all of a sudden she went bright red before keeling over unconscious. Inside his seal, Kyuubi was laughing at Shinigami, who had once again started banging his head against the bars of his cage.

Naruto shrugged and pondered. Would it be better if he woke Hinata up, or if he carried her back to the compound, bridal style, nice and close to him. A slow grin crossed his features, but unfortunately, the choice was taken away from him when Kurenai turned up. Seeing her favorite girl passed out on the ground, she immediately got out her smelling salts and waved them underneath Hinata's nose.

All in all, Naruto decided that it was probably a lot more fun when Hinata was awake. The walk to the Hyuuga compound had been filled with both conversation and laughter. Surprisingly, if Hinata got a handle on her stuttering, she could be a very good storyteller. Her rendition of Naruto being chased by the ANBU, with Naruto inserting a comment, often sarcastic, here and there, had Kurenai in stitches. All too soon, they had reached their destination.

Naruto gulped audibly at the sight of Hiashi Hyuuga waiting for them at the main gate. Perhaps if he ran now, he could still escape with his life and…other things…intact?

Hinata gave her father a bow, standing in front of him. "Tou-san," she said softly.

Hiashi nodded his head at his daughter, a small smile on his face. "Hinata, inside, I think I will accompany Naruto-san to tonight's poker game."

Naruto might have struggled to keep a grin off his face, if he were not too busy trying to hide behind Hinata. 'Please, please, please, don't let Hinata's dad kill me,' he thought. Shinigami chuckled.

"_Don't worry, kid, your girlfriend's dad is not going to kill you."_

'SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!' Naruto shouted at the Death God, still in denial. He was not yet aware that, by now, many rumors about his relationship with the Hyuuga heiress had already started to circulate around the village.

"_Yet." _ Shinigami's voice was full of promise. And evil.

'NANI!'

Hinata was whisked away from Naruto, leaving him grinning sheepishly up at Hiashi. "Heheheh. Now, Hiashi-sama, let's just take a moment to breathe so that you, I mean, we, do not do anything rash…"

Hiashi smiled at Naruto. "Do not worry Uzumaki-san. I have no intention of doing you any harm. Tonight."

Naruto gulped.

"I do, however, wish to ask you a few questions."

Kurenai looked on nervously at the two males. Hopefully, nothing bad would come of this.

"What are your intentions with my daughter?"

Naruto almost face faulted. He had been sure that the first thing that Hiashi would ask would be about Yurei. This…surprised him.

"She's my best friend," he replied honestly.

Hiashi frowned. "I am not sure that I trust you to be her friend," he said, his voice doubtful.

Naruto just looked at the clan head, trying to quell the bubbling rage that suddenly seemed to come into being within his stomach, and answered, his voice emotionless. "Funny, I am not too sure that I trust you to be her father."

Hiashi glared at Naruto. "Watch it _boy!_ It would not be wise to speak to me that way."

Naruto quirked an eyebrow up at the imposing figure of his…female friend's father. "The truth hurts does it?" he asked sympathetically. Kurenai gasped.

Seeing red, Hiashi grabbed Naruto by the collar of his jacket and lifted him up to eye level. **"Listen here, boy-"**

"_No. You listen!" _

Kurenai shivered at the difference in the two males' speech. Hiashi was hot, angry. But Naruto…Naruto spoke with a biting cold that gave his words so much more emphasis. And it was not he who was made to listen.

"_Do you know how many times Hinata has cried, because of you? How many times she pulls herself down every single damn day, because of you? How much she longs to hear just a kind word, because of you? How much she __**wishes**__ that she did not belong to her clan, because of you?" _the anger in Naruto's voice was highly evident as he spoke to Hiashi.

Hiashi's eyes widened. Naruto poked an accusing finger.

"Admittedly, you've gotten better, ever since it got pointed out to you, in some rather blunt circumstances. But deep down, she still believes that whatever you are doing for her now is nothing but an act. And frankly, I don't blame her."

Hiashi dropped Naruto on the ground.

"You have no idea what you are talking about." The tone of his voice sounded as if he were trying to convince himself, rather than Naruto.

"What's Hinata's favorite food?"

Hiashi frowned. "What does this have to do with-"

"Cinnamon rolls and zenzai. Where is Hinata's favorite place?"

Hiashi looked slightly shifty. "Her room?"

"The garden. Most of the Hyuuga clan stay away from it. What is Hinata's hobby?"

Hiashi blinked. She had a hobby?

"Flower pressing," Kurenai said softly. Naruto nodded.

"What does she do with the herbs she picks?"

"Presses them?" Hiashi asked hesitantly.

Naruto shook his head. "She uses them to make a medicinal cream. Why?"

"For cuts or bruises," Hiashi said, his voice certain.

Naruto shrugged. "Close enough. It's for her own use after her training sessions with her 'family,' so that no one else will know how often she gets beaten at home."

Hiashi winced.

"What happens to her at the academy?"

Hiashi stayed silent.

"She gets bullied on an almost daily basis."

Hiashi's eyes widened. His daughter got picked on? No parent wants to hear something like that. "Why didn't she tell me?" he whispered softly.

Naruto still heard him. "Because she was afraid that you would take it as another sign of weakness and beat her for it," he spoke as if explaining something to a small child. Hinata's father flinched.

"What does she get bullied for?"

Hiashi shook his head helplessly.

"Being a Hyuuga who thinks too much of herself."

At this point, Naruto snorted at the staring Hiashi. "Ironic, isn't it?"

"How many friends does she have?" Naruto demanded.

"You."

Naruto clapped his hands several times in a mockery of applause. One might say that he was just a little bit upset with Hiashi. "Congratulations. You got one right."

Hiashi was silent. Naruto leaned forward, glaring at Hiashi. "You say you don't trust me to be your daughter's friend? You don't even _know _me. Point of fact, you don't even know your own daughter."

Hiashi seemed to deflate like a punctured balloon. Kurenai was quite sure that she had never seen the Hyuuga Lord look quite so miserable. "I'm getting better," he protested, weakly.

"About bloody time," Naruto said angrily. "When were _you_ planning on starting? When your eldest child lay on her death bed after a mission gone wrong, or after she saves a teammates life at the cost of her own, having lived her entire life believing that her beloved father hates her very existence?" Naruto could not help but let some of the raw pain he felt enter his words.

Hiashi flinched visibly. "Naruto!" Kurenai barked. "You go too far!"

"No. He's right…" Hiashi said, having regained control of himself. "He knows my daughter better than I ever have, despite being friends with her for only a few months and me being her father for all her life. But there is another question that I must ask him." Hiashi activated his Byakugan. "What do you know of a man known as Yurei?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at him. "Haven't you already asked me this question?"

"Answer me. And do not think to lie. These eyes see all."

Naruto smirked and stood in front of Hiashi. Shinigami had explained everything to him.

_Flashback_

"_Look kid, when you lie, your body gives small signs that indicate that you are lying. Most of the time, these twitches are imperceptible. But a person trained to see them, would have no trouble whatsoever. Every Hyuuga is trained to spot these signals. It's what makes them able to react to things so quickly, those small muscle twitches give people away, the Byakugan, of course, helps tremendously."_

"Then how on earth am I supposed to be able to do anything but tell them the truth without getting caught out?" Naruto spluttered.

Kyuubi shook his head. The BOY could be so dense sometimes. **"SIMPLE KIT, KEEP THOSE MUSCLES STILL."**

Naruto's eyes widened, as did the smile that slowly spread across his face.

_Flashback end_

'Who would have thought that learning Sage Mode would have so many secondary uses?' Naruto thought.

Shinigami nodded. _"Not to mention you get one hell of a poker face."_

"I know nothing of a man named Yurei."

Hiashi frowned. The boy wasn't lying.

"He's been training me for a while now." Hiashi started. He wasn't lying!

"The grass is blue, the sky is green and my favorite food is sushi. I'm a personal friend of the Shinigami and his wife, who, by the way, has him completely whipped, -"

"_That was uncalled for,"_ Shinigami wept.

Naruto was having fun now. "I come from the future, where Konoha was completely destroyed by a single man, who I then defeated. I like ramen. And you can't tell whether or not I'm lying, can you?"

Hiashi just stared at the blond. "How?" he asked, his voice held the slight tinge of…fear?

Naruto snorted. "I've been hiding my feelings behind a mask since I was two years old, put it down to practice."

Kurenai looked between the two males, completely dumbstruck, not knowing at all what to do. Thankfully, a very memorable guest broke the confrontation.

"Gaki!"

Anko suddenly appeared and wrapped Naruto in a large hug, smothering his head between her…well, the action made passing men extremely jealous. Naruto, however much he may or may not have enjoyed the sensation, was waving his arms in a panic, as he was finding breathing to be a bit difficult at the moment.

Finally, Anko released him, allowing him to take a large breath of life-giving air. "The plan worked, kid!"

Naruto looked at her, surprised. "Seriously? It did?"

Anko nodded happily.

Kurenai however, was suspicious. "Plan, what plan?"

Anko explained happily, not seeing Naruto's emphatic waves and shaking of head telling her not to.

"It was all the Gaki's idea, Kurenai. You see, we were both a little bit short of cash for the poker game tonight. So, the kid borrowed Sasuke Uchiha's bath towel. Then he told all the girls in his class about it and told them that I had it. I made sure that I was easily found and explained the rules to them. There was only a limited amount of fabric, so only ten people would be able to buy pieces of the towel. After stopping them from killing each other off, I enacted the kid's plan. Each of them signed a waiver and entered the competition. They needed to stay hidden from me, and my pets, for the entire day. After nightfall, the last ten would get the chance to buy the towel."

"Anko, it's still daylight."

"Exactly! We charged them all a wad of cash to enter and now that they are all caught, we can go play poker! Oh, here's your split." Anko handed Naruto a significant stack of cash. The boy at least had the grace to blush self-consciously as he started to count his cut.

Kurenai glared at Naruto. "Do you have anything to say for yourself, Uzumaki-san?"

"I wonder how much we would have got if the prize had been Sasuke's boxers?" Naruto muttered, unconsciously.

Having just regained consciousness, Sasuke shivered as a feeling of profound dread almost overwhelmed him.

* * *

The guard outside the door to the poker game was quite confused at the sight before him, although it was understandable. Naruto was on the ground, clutching the large raised lump on the top of his head. Kurenai was looking quite satisfied with herself. Hiashi was looking a little lost. Anko just laughed at his pain.

"Entertainment aside," Anko said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Let's go win some cash." With a predatory grin, she opened the door. Naruto frowned at the sign that had been nailed to the front door, which stated that the host was not responsible for any sprains, bruises, broken bones, bruised egos or accidental death incurred in the game. It also stated that eccentric shinobi habits, eg. "flames of youth," would be punished with extreme prejudice. Naruto snickered as he entered the establishment.

There was a rather large gathering of people at the poker table. Included within this gathering were the clan heads of the Nara, Yamanaka, Akimichi, Inuzuka, Aburame and Hyuuga. That was without mentioning the fact that all of the soon-to-be Jonin sensei were seated around the table, as well as Ibiki and, judging by the horrified expressions that adorned their faces when Naruto came through the door, at least a couple of ANBU. Strangely enough, Yoshino Nara stood at the back of the group, holding, of all things, a cast iron frying pan.

"Hope we're not too late?" Anko questioned happily, taking a seat at the table.

"No, you're not," said Kakashi. Naruto's jaw felt the urge to hit the floor, seeing his old, future sensei at a meeting earlier than he. "May I ask, though, why Uzumaki-san is here?"

"He's my plus one," Anko said, winking roguishly. Naruto gulped, shifting away from the snake summoner.

"A little too young for you isn't he?" Ibiki said, smirking.

"A little too young for anyone at the moment, thank you very much," Naruto grumbled. Hiashi let out a large breath that he had not been aware he had been holding.

"Well, let's get started then. You have your cash?" Chouza, who was acting as the bank, asked.

Wordlessly, the two handed over their money and got an equal amount of chips back. As the game progressed, conversation started going round the table.

"I hear that some of you are going to act as Jonin sensei with the up and coming graduation classes," one of the aforementioned ANBU stated.

"I already have a most youthful team," Gai stated, flashing a grin. Surprisingly, he was rather good at poker, most likely because no one really wanted to look at him for too long and therefore could not tell whether or not he had a good hand.

"Well, I'm going to be on the best team of all!" Naruto declared boldly, a large smile spread across his face.

"And why would that be the case?" Kakashi asked lazily.

Naruto just looked at him as if he were an idiot. "It'll have me on it, obviously."

"Aren't you the dead last of the academy?" one of the ANBU asked, mockingly.

"Aren't you the next one on the roster for after I've done one of my larger pranks?" Naruto asked, casually throwing a number of his chips into the pot, enough to raise it by a good hundred ryo.

The ANBU in question paled, dropping his cards, which landed face up, thereby disqualifying him from the game. Naruto noted that it looked as if he would have won that hand, if he had kept his terror under control.

"I'm sorry, were those cards good?" Naruto asked, blithely.

Anko laughed uproariously at the ANBU's misfortune. Her laughter cut off at the glare that was given to her by Kurenai, who mouthed 'behave' to her friend. Anko pouted. But she paled before pasting a wide grin on her face at a warning glare from Yoshino.

With the ANBU's flush out of the picture, betting began in earnest, at this stage, cash only. Finally, it was just Naruto, Ibiki and Gai, still at it in earnest. After much contemplation on the stake, his cards and the still substantial amount of chips left to him, Gai folded, stating that in punishment for doing so, he would win the next round and if he could not do that, he would run around Konoha five times, on his hands. And if he could not do that, he would climb the Hokage monument and if he could not do that – Yoshino, who at the time had been talking quietly to Tsume, calmly walked over to him and whacked him over the head with the cast iron frying pan that seemed to be on hand for this specific purpose, wincing, slightly, as the reverberations traveled up her arm. Naruto absentmindedly wondered what kind of hair gel Gai used to turn his bowl cut into such an effective helmet.

"You should fold right now, kid, I'd feel bad for taking money away from a child," Ibiki said with a smirk.

Naruto just curled up his lip in a half smile, revealing his elongated canines. "Funny you should say that, Ibiki-sama. I'd feel bad taking money from a decrepit old man."

Ibiki raised the pot once more. Naruto matched him.

"You're nervous kid. I can tell. You keep on shifting in your seat. Your eyes glance to the pot, to your cards, to mine. You're already wondering what you are going to do for cash once I take all your money away from you." Ibiki's eyes bored into Naruto, but he showed no effect whatsoever.

"Nervous am I? What? Are my pupils dilating? Yours are. Is my eye twitching? Yours is. As for shifting in my seat, I'm hyperactive and I need to pee. Then there's the clincher. I'm not much of an actor, but it doesn't take a good actor to recognize a bad one. You're sweating." Naruto grinned ferociously.

Ibiki stiffened imperceptibly. "I do not sweat."

While this was all happening, the spectators who had already folded watched with wide eyes as the final two remaining poker players tried to get into the other's head. Gai, who had never even lost consciousness, muttered lowly about 'flames of youth,' before flinching slightly as Yoshino raised her weapon threateningly.

"_Arlia would just love that woman."_

It was all Naruto could do to keep a straight face at this statement.

"Then shall we lay down the cards?" Naruto asked challengingly.

"Yes. Lets'." Slowly, Ibiki placed his cards down, revealing four tens and a king. "Four of a kind," he said with a smirk.

Naruto looked at the cards in horror. "Ouch. You're good." A woebegone expression came upon him. "And that just makes this all the more painful," he sighed, as he flipped a two, three, four, five, and six onto the table, all of them clubs.

"And the pot goes to Naruto Uzumaki, who has hammered my boss with a straight flush!" Anko cheered, before blowing a raspberry at the glaring Ibiki. "Better luck next time old man!"

Naruto looked at Anko thoughtfully, before another evil grin came across his features.

"**HE'S GETTING QUITE GOOD AT THOSE,"** Kyuubi said, feeling slightly proud of the kit.

"Ibiki-sama?" he asked innocently.

Ibiki was immediately on guard. When Naruto acted innocent, you just knew that in some way, for someone, the shit would hit the fan.

"Yes?" he answered warily.

"You _are_ Anko's boss, aren't you?" Ibiki almost slumped in relief, apparently, he was not to be the target this time.

"Yes."

"In that case, I would be willing to let you take half your chips back from the pot if you could convince Anko-san to teach me a bit about poisons and antidotes."

Every person in the room paled at the thought.

"Not right away, of course," Naruto amended. A collective sigh of relief ran throughout the room.

"But when I become a Genin, surely Anko-san could be spared to teach me and those training with me a little about her craft."

Ibiki looked at Anko, who was indicating an emphatic "NO!" by violently shaking her head. He had not yet forgiven her for that old man comment…

"I'm sure that that could be arranged, Uzumaki-san. Shall we say, at least two days a week for, ahh…"

"Three months?" Naruto suggested, grinning at Anko, whose pouch of kunai Kurenai had just confiscated. Her shuriken pouch was the next to go, as Naruto's duck was only just fast enough.

"Six," Ibiki countered, smiling evilly at his subordinate. "Who knows? It might end up teaching her some discipline."

"SEN'EJASH-"

A loud clang filled the air. It was a good clang, worthy of mention, complete with that distinctive "WHOIOIOIOINNGGGG!" that is the sound of a clang well done. The sound continued to fill the air long after Anko had hit the ground with swirls in her eyes. Naruto gulped, for the first time really understanding why Shikamaru constantly called women "troublesome."

"No jutsu in the poker room," Yoshino growled, having just prevented Anko from completing her "striking shadow snakes," with extreme prejudice. "Are we clear?" she demanded, holding the slightly crumpled frying pan out in front of her as if it were a weapon of mass destruction, mostly because, in her hands, it became so.

"Ma'am, yes ma'am!" the shinobi chanted as one.

Shikamaru's mom nodded satisfactorily. "Now, boy!" her voice cracked like a whip at Naruto, who immediately stood to attention, knocking over his chair as he did so.

"Yes ma'am!" he squeaked.

"Why is it that you want to know about poisons?" Yoshino asked, her voice slightly judgmental.

Naruto frowned at this. He did not like that tone of voice. "Well, I don't like it when the food I buy at some stores have some extra ingredients in them. Nothing lethal, just enough to give me a real bad day. It'd be nice to be able to identify the poisons before actually just eating them."

Yoshino's eyes softened almost imperceptibly. "Don't worry, I'm sure that Anko will be happy to help you then, dear." Ibiki snorted. "ISN'T THAT RIGHT MORINO!"

"Yes, ma'am," he whimpered. At this point, Shikaku Nara finally let loose a muffled chuckle. Fortunately, his wife did not hear him.

"Anko! If you disagree to this arrangement, speak now, or forever hold your peace!"

Naruto cringed. "Um, could you perhaps word that a little bit differently please?"

"Are you complaining?" Kakashi asked curiously.

"**HELL YEAH HE'S COMPLAINING! AND HE'S NOT THE ONLY ONE! IF THE HYUUGA GIRL EVER FOUND OUT, THEN I MIGHT END UP BEING SEALED INTO **_**ANOTHER**_** GIRL."**

"_Isn't that just a little bit below the belt?"_

"**ISN'T THAT THE ENTIRE POINT?"**

'Could we please not talk about points in conjunction with my…well, you know,' Naruto thought at his tenants.

Shinigami's voice took on a thoughtful tone. _"Alright, besides, I don't think that that would actually end up happening. It's more likely that there would be some mysterious disappearances. After all, if I'm right, and if Arlia has her way, which she will, she almost __**always**__does, then Hinata would not want to damage the goods so that when you two are older you can-"_

'I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANYMORE!"

"**YES, YES YOU DO."**

'You two are both perverts, do you know that?'

"_**WE AREN'T PERVERTS,"**_ they spoke as one. _**"WE'RE SUPER PERVERTS!" **_They proclaimed, as a pure white light suddenly illuminated the both of them.

Naruto's traumatized scream rose to the heavens.

* * *

In Tea Country, a white haired old man with a thin line of drool coming from the corner of his mouth suddenly sneezed. "Hmm…my common sense is tingling…either more have joined the ranks of the super pervert, or someone _other_ than me is trying to corrupt my godson…" Anime tears started streaming down his face. "This is a good day for those who love the female form!" he shouted out in a voice highly reminiscent of a certain green clad Jonin and his favorite youthful student.

Jiraiya froze at a distinctive, syncopated cracking sound. "I know that sound," he whispered. Turning around, he faced the horde of woman behind, water still dripping down their towel clad bodies; 'and what bodies!' Jiraiya thought as a small trickle of blood ran from his left nostril, due to their hasty exit from the onsen. Each of them were cracking their knuckles in a very threatening manner. "My sensei taught me well. He showed me exactly what to do when confronted by the makers of that sound." Looking at each other, the women just shrugged before beginning their charge against the pervert. Jiraiya, however, back flipped away, placing his hands in the ram sign. When he hit the ground, he immediately began charging his chakra, so much so that it started becoming visible, swirling around him in blue ropes as dust and pebbles began to lift into the air.

"My sensei was a legend in his own time, the God of Shinobi! I trained one of the best ninja to ever walk this land, or any other! Through battle, sweat, tears and blood, I too became known and feared throughout this world as one of the legendary Sannin! I am the Sage of Mt. Myoboku, the wise and immortal spirit! The writer of great books! That's right! It is I, the almighty Toad Sage!"

His chakra had now reached its peak, a whistling sound could be heard by his power as it mixed with the air, creating a wind that tore several towels away from their owners' nervous grasp. Although this increased the flow of blood from his nose, Jiraiya continued to speak, his voice rising, as his hands slowly began a long series of hand signs. "Now! Ye who have made that forbidden sound, tremble in fear as I unleash the technique created by both me and my sensei for dealing with the likes of you!" Several women gulped in fear as he reached his last hand sign, the rat. Jiraiya shouted out the name of the dreaded technique. "ART OF THE SANNIN AND KAMI NO SHINOBI: **RUN LIKE A BITCH NO JUTSU!"**

The woman blinked at the cloud of dust that was left in Jiraiya's wake, before running after the booking pervert with a howl that promised blood. But he was already long gone.

* * *

"Wow," Kakashi said. "Didn't think he'd take it that badly. Maybe he knows Anko-chan better than I thought." His face suddenly impacted with the poker table, sending several of his chips flying everywhere, as Yoshino struck again.

"Kakashi! No traumatizing the minor. As for you dear, you may need to breathe right about now, because if you don't stop with the screaming, then you may find yourself no longer able to do so."

Naruto stopped screaming and blushed, not having realized that he had been doing so out loud.

Ibiki walked over to Anko and poked her with the toe of his boot. "Well, Anko-chan hasn't objected, so I guess you've got yourself and your team a poison trainer once you graduate." Naruto smiled widely and pushed the agreed upon number of chips over to Ibiki's pile.

"Should we wake her up now? Or should we carry on playing without her?" Wolf asked the group.

Almost as soon as he had finished speaking, Choza's wife walked in carrying a huge platter of food.

"Dango anyone?" she asked with a kindly smile.

There was a blur of motion and Anko was suddenly back in her seat, her two hands absolutely full of dango sticks.

"Thanks a lot Mrs. Akimichi! Now, where were we?"

Once Anko had finally calmed down after she was told that she had been shanghaied into teaching "a bunch of little snots and a bastard of a blond," the game got back underway.

Naruto followed a lot of Shinigami's advice as he played the game. It would not do for the others to realize that he had far more winning hands than was likely. Nevertheless, the pile of chips in front of him was larger than any other on the table.

Finally, it was time for the last hand of the night. As Naruto was dealt his cards, he felt…something. An instinct one could call it, a shift in the way he thought. Somehow, he knew that the hand he had been dealt was a winning one. And so, he was not surprised when he looked at his cards and saw what he had been dealt. As the game continued, he continued talking about what type of training methods were undertaken once a student had graduated to become a Genin.

"I just don't think that it makes a whole lot of sense!" he complained.

"What do you mean Naruto-kun?" asked Inoichi. At the start of the game, everyone except Anko and Kurenai had been calling him Uzumaki-san, but as the time began to fly away, slowly, the other players around the table began to warm up to him. He had also specifically told them that he would prefer it if they called him by his first name, as being called "Uzumaki-san" made him feel old.

Naruto answered the Yamanaka clan head's of the question. "Well, the training, I mean, just having one sensei."

"This method of training has produced hundreds of excellent shinobi over the course of many years, Naruto-san," Tsume interjected mildly. "Who are you to say that it is incorrect?"

Naruto blanched. "Me? Nobody really. And I'm not saying that it's wrong, it is just…" he paused, seemingly searching for the words, before brightening and pointing to Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma. "You three are going to be Jonin sensei next year, right?" The three blinked, owlishly. The boy was surprisingly well informed.

"Yes," Kakashi answered for all of them.

"Well," Naruto said, before pointing at Kurenai.

"Kurenai-san is a genjutsu specialist, right? So, logically, she would be the best choice for teaching genjutsu."

His finger turned to Asuma. "Asuma is a tactics and weapons specialist, therefore, he would mostly focus on teaching those subjects," he hurried on as Asuma opened his mouth to interrupt. "Yes, I know that you are also well versed in ninjutsu and taijutsu, but your most commonly used jutsu is the Hien, or Flying Swallow, which you use with your chakra blades. Your taijutsu style is also heavily dependent on those same blades." Asuma opened his hands wide as he nodded slightly, conceding the point.

"Mou, what about me Naruto-kun?" Kakashi asked, eye smiling at him. "What's my specialty?"

"Tardiness," Naruto answered promptly. Kakashi face faulted as the rest of the occupants of the room laughed at the blunt, yet accurate statement.

"But from what I hear, you're pretty much the most rounded shinobi out of the others, yet your specialty would have to be ninjutsu."

Kakashi eye smiled once more.

"And, from what I've heard, Gai-san is a taijutsu specialist, right?"

"Yosh! You are most perceptive young one! In fact, it could be said that your passion burns with the flames of you-"

"_Cue frying pan,"_ Shinigami said cheerfully, inordinately happy that this time, he was not at the receiving end of it.

Ignoring the dazed Gai, who had been hit much harder this time, Naruto continued. "Wouldn't it therefore make more sense for you to all teach at least a bit about what you're good at?"

"The boy makes a valid point." Everyone turned in surprise to the one who had made this statement. Although he had been playing for the entire game, these were the first words that Shibi Aburame had uttered the entire night.

At their silence, Shibi continued, pushing his sunglasses, which he wore even when inside, up the bridge of his nose. "Although his suggestion is not exactly a method of teaching that adheres to the established ethnicities of shinobi education, I find it disturbingly difficult to refute the male adolescent's logic."

Naruto blinked. "Translation?" he whispered to Anko.

"Hell if I know," she answered back from the corner of her mouth.

"He said that it may be against tradition, but you've got a point," Hiashi answered, smirking slightly at Naruto's slight confusion.

"Therefore, I think it may be sagacious for us to set forth a proposition for the juvenile's notion to be implemented on a probationary period for an agreed upon amount of time in order to discover whether or not this experimental program may be of benefit to the graduating students from the learning establishment."

"And again?" Naruto asked Hiashi.

"He thinks we should attempt your idea on a trial basis."

"Cool!"

The sensei, however, frowned. They were not altogether too sure about this idea. Sure, it may end up increasing the individual skills of the Genin, but at what cost? Konoha fought on the principal of teamwork and if the students did not spend as much time with their team as possible, would they be able to build up the necessary rapport for when they were confronted with a tough situation?

"I'm not entirely too sure about this," Asuma murmured. Kurenai nodded her head emphatically.

"Oh, come on, please?" Naruto pouted, absently wishing that he could do the Puppy Eyes Jutsu as well as Hinata could. He would have got them all in the palm of his hand. Fortunately…

"Why don't we make it a part of the last hand?" Might Gai asked, a fire in his eyes, fully confident in his victory.

"I like that idea," Anko added.

"You folded, remember?" Naruto deadpanned.

"Indeed. In fact, the only people left in the game at the moment are Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, Gai and Naruto," Hiashi said, counting them all off.

"Alright then!" Naruto exclaimed as he pushed his large pile of chips into the center of the table.

"All in! And if I win this pot, all of the remaining players have to bring their Genin teams together at least twice a week in order to do some cross training!"

"You're a confident little scoundrel aren't you?" Kurenai asked, smirking at Naruto. The smirk grew wider when Naruto stuck his tongue out at her.

"What else will you offer?" Kakashi asked, as he pushed all of his chips into the pot. You may have more cash than us, but what you are asking for is worth a lot more than just ryo."

Naruto frowned. "Good point. Alright, for every five hundred ryo over the amount I put in the pot, I'll promise to go a week without pranking anyone in Konoha."

Wordlessly, every ANBU in the room pushed all of the chips remaining in front of them into the pot.

Shikaku looked at them, one eyebrow raised. "You do know that none of you are actually in the game, don't you?"

"We are all well aware of that Nara-sama," Wolf answered calmly, his voice tinged with a slight hope.

"He can't be that bad can he?" asked Yoshino.

Wolf said one word, just one word. "Rudolph." Yoshino's eye started twitching madly, before she wordlessly reached over her husband's shoulder and added his chips to the pile. She still had nightmares about trying to scrub that red stuff off each and every deer's nose in the entire herd of the Nara clan.

"Troublesome," Shikaku sighed.

"YOOUUUUUTHH!" Gai yelled out loud as he went all in. Normally, he would have been punished for this infraction. However, everyone was too busy watching the outcome of the game to bother right then.

"What do you say, Kurenai?" Asuma asked his love interest. "Shall we join in with the party?"

Kurenai nodded, a faint red tinge to her cheeks. "Let's."

"The next order of business would be for you all to sign a contract stating that you will keep your word after the outcome." Surprisingly, it was Choza who put forward this suggestion, although, perhaps not so surprisingly. Many of the Akimichi clan participate in eating competitions where both money and promises are bet and made at regular intervals. It had become standard practice for these type of things to be documented in order to prevent one of the contestants from recanting their promise.

One by one, each person signed their name to the hastily drawn up contract, which was then added to the pot.

At this point, the pot was the largest of the night and one of the largest that most of the players could ever recall seeing.

Naruto sighed satisfactorily as he leaned back on his chair and looked lovingly at the pile of loot in front of him. "You know, normally at this point, we'd all show our cards one by one and build up the suspense. I'd be the last one to show my hand and I'd unveil it in some dramatic fashion that would leave you all gasping and groaning. But right now, I can't be stuffed."

One by one, he threw a ten, three faces and an ace, all of spades, on to the top of the table, in full view of every occupant of the room. "So, unless anyone can beat that, I'll take my leave of you right now."

As Naruto left the room, with his winnings in a sack thrown over his shoulder, several ANBU began to cry.

* * *

"_Hey, kid, do you remember that outfit that you had to go and get to escape your own stench on the first day that you went back?"_ Shinigami asked.

Naruto nodded. "Yep, in fact, I've got it sealed right here," he said, patting one of his top pockets.

"_Good, good. After all that you won from that game, you finally have enough money to complete it."_

"Hey yeah! You're right!" Naruto said with a large, vulpine grin. However, this soon changed into a frown. "I wonder if they'll still be open? After all, it's starting to get pretty late."

"**KIT, JUST IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED, YOU ARE LIVING IN A NINJA VILLAGE," **Kyuubi broke in.

"NO! REALLY! And all this time I thought we were a village of samurai!"

"**SMARTASS. MY POINT IS, THIS IS A NINJA VILLAGE. THE SHOP IS A SHOP OF NINJA STORES. NOW, ONE OF THE THINGS ABOUT NINJAS, IS THAT THEY DON'T OFTEN KEEP TO THE REGULAR DAY HOURS, SO THE STORE IS PROBABLY STILL OPEN."**

"_You may want to run there though, just in case," _Shinigami suggested.

It turned out that Naruto did not need to run after all. The shop was still open and would be for quite some time. It was also thanks to Kyuubi's reminder that Naruto remembered to do the same henge no jutsu that he had done the last time he came into the shop. Once he came out again, his sack of cash was _far_ lighter than he had expected it would have been. The reason for this was simple: chakra metal. Both of his greaves and vambraces were made from a chakra conducting metal and his matte black chainmail was made of a very light, _very _sturdy metal that provided excellent protection as well as a full range of movement. All in all, it was a good buy, last one that they had in stock too.

"Man, I look good in everything, don't I?" he said with a grin.

"That was a comment, not a question!" he snapped quickly, almost _feeling _his 'traveling companions' open their mouths.

"_Alright, Naruto. Get into your outfit, we're going back to the top of the Hokage's monument."_

Naruto gulped as he looked to the sky and the black head of clouds that were heading their way.

"Now? Are you sure? I mean, it looks like a storm is starting to head our way!"

"_Yes, now. The storm makes it even better."_

Sighing, Naruto did as he was told. "If you say so. After all, you're the boss."

"_Oh, I am so __**very**__ much more than that,"_ Shinigami said with a tight smile.

* * *

It was the work of but a few minutes to get to his parents' old cottage at the top of the Hokage heads, but then, he had had plenty of practice in doing so. "Okay, Shinigami-sama! I'm here! _Now _what do I do?"

"_Climb to the very top of the highest tree at the edge of the cliff."_

Shrugging slightly to himself, Naruto searched the cliff edges, walking around the entire area on foot, squinting up into the darkness and mentally blessing his enhanced vision as he was able to make out the tips of the trees against the star spangled sky. He shivered slightly as the wind, always present at this height, began picking up slightly, cutting through his jacket to chill his flesh. Finally, he found the required tree and began walking up it.

"_No," _Shinigami said. Suddenly, Naruto's chakra spiked as it had not done since before he had started the most basic of control exercises, launching him off the tree.

"What the hell?" Naruto asked, yelling to be heard over the now howling wind.

"_Climb it, I said, but this is something that must be done without chakra."_ Shinigami's voice was unyielding.

Climbing was much more difficult without the use of his chakra to make the job easier. The wind buffeted and tore at him, trying to tear him away from his sometimes-precarious perch. It was _strong_, always pushing against him, but, inch by inch, handhold by handhold, Naruto slowly made it up towards the top of his tree. What made it more difficult was the fact that the tree moved with the wind, swinging and bending as it tried to survive one of the elements and forces of Nature. And the higher Naruto got, the more the part of the tree he was grabbing hold of swung and bucked beneath him.

Finally though, huffing and puffing from one of the hardest workouts that he had received in a long time, Naruto reached the top of his tree, clutching its tip with all four limbs.

"_Stand up."_

"WHAT?"

"_Get on your feet."_

Struggling, Naruto did so, before a particularly strong blast of wind came his way and he immediately fell back to all fours, clutching the tree once more.

"_Stand up."_

Three times Naruto pushed himself back to his feet, battling against the storm, against the power of the wind, still forbidden to use any chakra to help him with his task. Three times, the wind beat him back down to his knees.

"This time! This time for sure!" he grunted out, his voice tinged with frustration. Letting out a wordless cry, he thrust himself to his feet once more, constantly pushing against the wind. The wind pushed back, throwing him from off the top of the tree. He screamed as he fell, the branches slamming into his body as he descended toward the earth. Reaching out desperately, he grabbed hold of a long, thin branch, grasping it with a terrified strength to slow his fall. Naruto winced at the burn that the friction of slowing down his plummeting plunge caused, even through the fingerless gloves he wore with this outfit, but he had succeeded in stopping his fall.

"_Why aren't you at the top, Naruto?" _ Shinigami asked mildly.

Groaning, Naruto pulled himself back to the top of the tree, climbing hand over hand, making sure that each foothold was secure, and not unsteady due to the pummeling of the wind that was all around. He had reached the swaying top of the tree once more.

"_On your feet."_

Panting, Naruto finally realized that this was not something that he could do by himself. "How?" he asked, his voice rough.

"_You are fighting the wind, you are fighting against one of the most powerful destructive forces of this earth. You will not win. Don't fight it. __**Accept**__ it. __**Learn**__ from it. Move __**with **__it. Feel the wind as it surrounds you. Feel its caress against your skin. Feel its eddies and flows. Strive to understand its unpredictability."_

Slowly, listening to Shinigami's words as they flowed through his mind, Naruto gained his feet.

"_The wind is always around us and so, at times, we underestimate it. We take it for granted. And then, something happens to remind us that the wind is there."_

Gracefully, Naruto began to bend his body, trying to match the swaying of his unstable footing.

"_We cannot see the wind. We cannot smell it. We cannot taste it. Yet at times, we can hear it as it whistles through its surroundings. Hear the wind as it howls all around you. But one thing that we can always do, we can always feel the wind's touch as it blows through our hair, as it blows against our face."_

Inside the seal etched on Naruto's belly, Kyuubi placed his head between his paws, his tails limp as a great feeling of nostalgia overcame him. To feel the wind once more, stroking itself through his fur, carrying so many scents to him. To hear the music that it played as it rushed all around him. The Nine Tailed Demon Fox sighed, a deep yearning growing within his heart.

"_Above all else, wind is free. You cannot cage the wind, for once you have, then it is wind no longer, merely air. Know this. Understand this. __**Feel**__ this. The wind is always in motion, never allowing itself to halt, for if it did, it would no longer be a wind, merely air, stagnant, unmoving, still."_

Naruto continued moving, taking deep breaths as he did so, feeling the beginning of…something. And yet, he could not tell what it was. Struggling to gain a better understanding of that feeling, he…_reached _towards it and was therefore unprepared for the change in the wind, and he once more was forced to wrap all four limbs around the tree to prevent himself from falling.

"_You did not feel it," _Shinigami chided gently.

"Feel, feel, it's all about feel, isn't it?" Naruto said as he huffed a bit and blew some of the rain that had started running down his face away. The rain had started mere moments ago, but was already falling heavily. "Alright, you want me to feel, huh?" Wrapping his legs around a tree branch, Naruto shucked his jacket, the chainmail and shirt, shivering slightly at the cold fingers of the rain filled gale as it traced them across his torso.

"_Close your eyes this time. When your eyes are closed, then your other senses compensate. It should help."_

Getting to his feet once more, Naruto began once more, bringing his arms up as he breathed in deeply, taking the wind into himself, before exhaling once more, adding to the wind around him. He kept his center of balance perfect, even as the wind increased, sending the tip of the tree in whip-like motions.

"_That's it," _Shinigami whispered. _"Feel it. Ride the wind. Follow, at the same time, lead."_

Slowly, Naruto began to move as he stood on the top of the tree, twisting and rotating his upper and lower torso as his arms began to follow the movement of the wind around him. Yet he steadily began to increase his speed, following the movements of the wind.

"_Now, accept it! Draw it in. You can feel the wind. Now become one with it."_

Hardly even aware of what he was doing, Naruto called to the wind and the wind came. He could hear the roaring as it rushed around him. He could feel the lashing of the rain water as it was driven at his flesh by the force of the wind surrounding it. He gasped as he truly _felt_ the wind for the first time.

"_That's it. You can feel it flowing through you, around you. Draw it in. Draw it __**through.**__"_

Till the end of his days, Naruto was never able to explain just what had occurred in that moment, when he became one with the wind and the storm. All he knew was that in that moment, with the rain crashing down, lightning beginning to flash all around him and the wind, that glorious wind howling like wolves to the heavens above, something _happened._ He inhaled deeply as he felt a power within him that he had never experienced before.

"_Open your eyes."_

Naruto slowly opened his eyes once again. He made no movement, nothing gave a clue to his awestruck mindset as the world around him_._..changed, as he stood there within the center of the shifting wind.

"_Do you understand now?"_

"Yes," he whispered, his voice unheard within the storm.

"_Do you feel it?"_

"Yes."

"_Now kid, now, you are ready to meet and warn the Sandaime."_

Closing his eyes once more, Naruto spread his arms wide as he leapt off the tree and off the edge of the cliff face as well. Lightning crashed down behind, striking the tip of the tree exactly where he had just been standing, rending the tree in twain. And yet, Naruto was unconcerned as he fell towards the earth, feeling the wind as it surrounded him, cushioning his descent. In that moment, he was the wind and the wind was he. In that moment, he could fly and he was flying free.

* * *

AN: Cliffjumper no Jutsu! Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter had a lot happening. I'd like to thank hinatasgreatestfan once more for helping with this chapter. He makes it all a whole lot better. As for the poll, it seems that I will be doing a one-shot on the Uzumaki clan. In unrelated news, this is once again the longest chapter I've ever posted. Seriously! This thing is over fifteen thousand words! Call it an apology for the late update. Seems to be a recurring theme. It is also a chapter that covers a number of milestones. This story is now over 100,000 words. Yay! (Cue fanfare for fanfiction) And we're past the halfway point to a thousand reviews! (Does the five hundred review dance) So, thank you to everyone who takes the time to review, I really can't tell you how much they mean to me. There are also a number of 'easter eggs' within this chapter, quotes and such from other movies/books. See if you can find them all!

And in conclusion, Read and Review

TwiceMarked out.


	15. Captured

**IMPORTANT AUTHORS NOTE**

Alright people, the bad news is that the festive season is over. The good news is that that means that I was finally allowed to write again. Apparently, the festive season is a time for family and loved ones to get together, as evidenced by my cousin who got on a plane so that she could be with us. But she's left now, which means that I could write without feeling guilty. On the other bad side, I'm about to leave for a two week long holiday and when I finished this chapter, I had no internet access. At first, I was only going to post it when I had got it through my excellent beta-reader, hinatasgreatestfan, but seeing as we leave in an hour, that would mean that the rest of you guys would have to wait another 15 days before getting this chapter…

I decided that this was the kinder option.

Anyway, let's get on with the story.

* * *

Chapter 14

Captured

Despite the fact that Shinigami had said he was ready to meet the Hokage, Naruto had decided to play it safe. The way he looked at it, doing otherwise would be a little bit…reckless.

Shinigami and Kyuubi had both snorted at this. It was amazing to see what nothing more than a slightly different point of view had done for Naruto's planning skills.

_Flasback_

"It's just like preparing for a prank, you know?"

Shinigami and Kyuubi both looked at Naruto vacantly.

"_**HUH?"**_ they both asked, incomprehension clear in their tone.

"Well, a lot of planning and effort goes into pulling off a master prank. Not only that, but you have to know everything about your equipment. That way, there is very little chance, under any circumstances, that it will do something that you don't want it to."

The two immortal males still looked confused. Naruto sweat dropped, surprised that he was having to explain something to another person, for once. Usually, it was the other way round.

"I haven't had any training at all with my new equipment and you," he pointed to the Shinigami, "haven't told me anything that that drawing on the wind thing can actually do."

"_And I won't," _Shinigami stated calmly.

"EHH!" Naruto yelled.

"_That is for you to discover yourself. The technique you learnt through my guidance is a seal-less, internalized jutsu, one of the most powerful ones in the existence. This technique can only be learnt by those who have an __extremely__ high wind affinity and its uses are unique to every different user, save one, which is present in all."_

"Well, what's that one?" Naruto asked.

"_I'm not telling you!" _Shinigami said, grinning widely at an indignant Naruto. His face suddenly grew serious. _"But the only limit that this technique truly has, is you."_

"Well, that didn't sound at all ominous. Anyway, what I meant with the prank thing is that I'm going to take a little time to get used to my new stuff, before storming the tower."

"_Oh, of course. I knew that,"_ Shinigami said, hurriedly.

"**YEAH. SURE YOU DID."**

_Flashback End_

Now, it was three weeks to the day after the night when Naruto had first _felt_ the wind. Tonight, he had decided, would be the night he saw the Sandaime as Yurei. If he had stuck to his original plan, then he would still have been waiting for another week. However, there was a rather compelling reason for him to make this the night he visited the third. The weather. The radio had reported that tonight there was going to be another storm coming to Konoha. And if the reports were accurate, it would be a storm with some of the strongest winds in living memory. Even now, Shinobi were at work: placing extra weight on the roofs, tying things down, battening down the hatches and making sure that they were ready for when the storm hit. It would also force everyone to remain indoors once the weather started raging. However, unlike a normal person, the storm would only give Naruto the advantage.

Looking back, Shinigami agreed that it had been uncharacteristically wise of Naruto to wait before seeing the Hokage as Yurei. It would have been foolish, he thought, going into a potential combat situation with unfamiliar equipment. And Naruto was not even going to try and kid himself; this would be a potential combat situation. On the plus side of things, during these last few weeks the young man had increased his skills once more. Naruto's repertoire of wind jutsu had become much larger, although to his annoyance he found that he still could not perform the kaze no yaiba. Naruto found this strange, as the jutsu was very similar to his own kazeken. However, where the kazeken travelled out in an arc, leaving his hand in a solid wave of wind chakra, the kaze no yaiba stayed connected to the user's fingers, increasing and decreasing its length based on the chakra output. This made the Wind Sword Jutsu a much better close range weapon than his kazeken, although not as good when it came to mid range or longer distance combat.

The jutsu that he was most proud of at the moment was another of his own creations. He had called it the Fuuton: Kazetama Seisha, or Wind Style: Wind Ball Volley. Kyuubi said that he had no imagination when it came to naming things, despite the fact that his own title was pretty self-explanatory. Shinigami said that he did not really care what he called the damn thing, as long as he could do it without yelling out its name or doing any hand signals to activate it. Unfortunately, Naruto could do neither, and the jutsu did not have nearly the amount of destructive capability as he might have liked. But it was _his. _The Kazetama Seisha was his own creation and he loved it. And besides, he already had a couple of ideas to improve it.

* * *

Carrying a pair of large, heavy, burlap sacks, Naruto walked into his used and abused training clearing in midst of the Forest of Death. Pursing his lips, he gave a loud, piercing whistle. From all around the clearing, a series of loud roars rent the silence. Slowly, with feline grace, six of the endangered giant white tigers stalked into the clearing. Naruto watched admiringly as their muscles rippled underneath their sleek, soft fur. Intelligence gleamed in their eyes as they stared unblinkingly at Naruto. Naruto met their gaze, never flinching as he did so, which meant that he missed the last beast behind him. The tiger suddenly leapt onto his back in a mighty pounce, driving him to the ground. The beast let out a mighty roar as it lowered its jaws to Naruto's face…and rubbed its head against his cheek, an affectionate, rumbling purr coming from deep within its barrel like chest.

"Alright, Suji, alright!" Naruto said, laughing as he pushed at the tiger that had first tried to kill him just a few short weeks ago, struggling to get its heavy body off his chest. When Naruto had first gotten back to the clearing the day after he had been ambushed by the tiger, he realized that he had forgotten to release the big cat back into the wild. The evidence was still there, waiting for him and not too happy about it either. On Kyuubi's suggestion, Naruto had come back with some meat as a peace offering, fed it to the tiger and then turned him loose. The next day, Naruto was once again ambushed, but this time, by two tigers. The boy had gotten a little bit more scratched up than the last time, but it ended with the male and female pair both being tied up together, cheek to cheek. Once again, Naruto brought them some meat as a peace offering. The next day, when Naruto approached his training site, he made sure that he walked towards the site while the wind was blowing in his face. Due to his enhanced sense of smell, which he thought he was _finally_ getting used to, Naruto was able to sniff out the two big cats and this time, _he_ ambushed _them._

After this process was repeated for a couple more days, each day including the pair of tigers getting knocked around, tied up, and then fed, although usually with Naruto accumulating a whole new set of cuts to add to his collection, the Shinigami had suggested that Naruto moved his training site. The Death God had forgotten who, exactly, he was talking to. Even Hinata would readily admit that Naruto at times had…stubbornness issues. Naruto had persisted. Then came the day when the animals simply stopped attacking Naruto. Instead, they just came for the free food that he provided for them. Pretty soon, word must have got around, because Naruto was now a respected member and provider of the Forest of Death's White Tiger community. He still had a soft spot for Suji and Shirobi, or, Stripes and White Beauty, as they were the first two tigers that he had encountered. Shirobi, Suji's mate, was, at this time, in the early stages of pregnancy, Naruto could smell it. The blond liked to think that he had been the one to introduce the couple to each other.

After handing out the meat from the sacks to each tiger, Naruto made his favorite hand sign and produced his usual ridiculous amount of clones before deciding to head off. Pulling out a sealing scroll, one that he himself had created, he sealed away the two blood soaked sacks within.

"**I STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY YOU THINK IT IS NECCESARY TO CARRY TWO BLOOD SOAKED SACKS OF MEAT THROUGH THE FREAKING FOREST OF DEATH, WHICH YOU AND I BOTH KNOW DRAWS THE OCCUPANTS OF THIS PLACE LIKE A FOX TO CHICKEN WHEN YOU COULD JUST UNSEAL IT WHEN YOU GOT HERE,**" Kyuubi said indifferently.

Naruto froze, before letting out a wail that contained mixed elements of relief, anger, disbelief and frustration.

"_Ahh, Kyuubi! Why did you have to go and ruin my fun! I thought that it would take him ages to actually figure that out for himself!" _Shinigami complained.

"**MEH, IT MAKES THINGS A LITTLE BIT QUICKER." **His tone of voice become musing mixed with regret. ** "ALTHOUGH I WILL ADMIT THAT SEEING HIM RUN FROM THAT HUNTSMAN SPIDER THE SIZE OF A HORSE, SCREAMING INCOHERENTLY AS HE DID SO, WAS SOMETHING THAT I FOUND TO BE VERY AMUSING."**

"I HATE SPIDERS!" Naruto yelled. The tigers stopped chewing on their food and looked at him curiously. Confirming that 'their' human was just having another one of his freak out moments, which happened far more regularly than Naruto would like to admit, they unconcernedly turned back to their meal.

Sighing, Naruto walked through the mess of white furred feline and buried his face into the silky fur Shirobi, the female, rubbing it vigorously. Fuzz therapy. There was nothing quite like it for curing yourself of a bad day, especially when the animal started a deep, rumbling purr that vibrated throughout your body, as Shirobi was doing now. He lay there, buried in soft fur for a moment longer, before forcing himself to stand up and leave the clearing, pausing to give Suji one last scratch before he did so.

* * *

"Henge," Naruto whispered once he had climbed to the branches of one of the trees around him, their leaves hiding him from. The jutsu immediately took effect, changing into a falcon once more. Naruto had quickly discovered that it was a bad idea to turn into a plump, edible bird in the midst of a whole lot of hungry cats, hence the necessary climb. The falcon ruffled its feathers automatically. Bad memories. Crouching down, Naruto launched himself off the branch and, spreading his wings, began to soar.

For the moment, Naruto just flew, allowing the joy of flight to overwhelm him. He had found more trouble, more near death experiences with this shape than with any other, save his original. Learning to fly was not been easy, but the rewards that came to you once you did? Those rewards were something that was truly magnificent. Just the feel of cutting through the air, soaring above the clouds, floating in the firmament with the wind rushing over you, it was an experience unlike any other. When Naruto flew, he was able to rise above the cares of the world and leave the burdens of what he had set out to do back on the ground for a short while. It was an addictive feeling.

"_Hurry up, will you? This is boring."_

"**MUCH AS I HATE TO SAY IT, I AGREE."**

The two immortals could suddenly feel the unexpected mischievous intent in their host.

"Boring? I'll give you boring."

Naruto abruptly folded his wings together and plummeted towards the forest floor, now far below him, reaching speeds upwards of eighty miles an hour. Spreading his wings out at his sides, Naruto dived into a gap through the forest canopy, laughing wildly.

Branches reached out at him with grasping fingers as Naruto whipped through the trees, below the canopy. His falcon eyes never stopped moving, constantly flickering from place to place as he reacted instantly and instinctively to every situation. He let the memory and experience of thousands of hours worth of flight time combine with the muscle memory he had gained as a falcon. His wings opened and closed, flapping furiously, when able, to keep himself moving at that insane speed. Naruto could feel the strain of wind resistance as he half opened one wing to make a hairpin turn. The wind began to rush over him with increasing swiftness as he folded his feathery limbs tight against his body, shooting like a kunai between a tiny gap between the branches. He whooped loudly, giving off a piercing whistle as he turned his body, banking rapidly to avoid the mighty tree trunks, every move sudden yet deliberate, knowing, yet not caring that a single slip could mean death. The slightest flex of a tail feather, curling a pinion or even turning the head, every motion had a reaction. Naruto dipped and climbed, pulled off corkscrews and loops, taking on every obstacle as it came. He even occasionally scraped a tree with a talon in order to make a particularly sharp turn. Finally, after perhaps thirty seconds of a glorious adrenaline rush, he could see light at the end of his ultimate rollercoaster ride. But there was a small problem. A spider web stood in his way. Panicking, Naruto sent a large amount of wind chakra to cover his wings, sharpening it instinctively as he braced himself for impact. The impact never came as the chakra before him going at such a speed simply _scythed_ through the webbing and, suddenly, Naruto was out of the forest and in the open air.

"TSEEEEEERRRR!" he called out loudly even as the wind of his passage rushed through his feathers, letting the world know of his victory.

"**HE'S GETTING MUCH BETTER WITH THAT FORM**," Kyuubi remarked.

Shinigami snorted. _"After all the practice he's been doing with it lately, he should be! Whenever his clones get bored, they decide to fool around in that form just for the fun of it!"_

As Naruto soared through the skies, he mused on the progress that his friends had made. First of all, ever since the last time that the nine of them had gone to Ichiraku's Naruto had endeavored to try to get them all to hang out together more often. Hinata still had everyone beat at ramen competitions, much to Choji's disgust. ("She's not even pleasingly plump!") Occasionally, Anko would meet up with them, which had done wonders for both Ino and Sakura. The fact that they now had a _very_ competent kunoichi as a role model seemed to do wonders for their attitude. Although, unfortunately, they still had occasional lapses into fangirlism. They had, however, learned very quickly that it was a very bad idea to act that way around Anko.

_Flashback_

"Why paint, dobe? Water I would understand, but why did it have to be a bucket of paint?" A very…blue Uchiha asked Naruto, who was busy slurping down a bowl of ramen, completely oblivious to Sasuke and his emo ways. "Naruto!" Sasuke snapped.

"Huh?" he asked intelligently. Sasuke sighed and indicated his appearance.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata said. "Sasuke wanted to know why you used paint on him." At this, Hinata frowned at him. "Normally, your pranks are e-easier on friends and you save the harder stuff for M-Mizuki-sensei." A small note of disapproval was coloring Hinata's words. Naruto was quick to explain.

"Don't be mad Hinata-chan, I wasn't going to use the paint on Sasuke-teme, honest!"

"_Whipped!"_ Shinigami coughed.

"Then why did you use the paint on Sasuke?" Sakura asked.

An evil grin crossed Naruto's features. "I found a nice pool of water that had a whole lot of leeches inside. They went into the bucket of water."

"That would explain why Mizuki-sensei was so pale today," Shino commented thoughtfully, yet never losing his dry tone of voice.

Naruto chuckled, evilly.

"**HE REALLY IS GETTING**_** VERY**_** GOOD AT THAT,"** Kyuubi said, sounding surprised.

"_Maybe we're a bad influence on him?" _Shinigami asked curiously.

Naruto pushed the guffawing sounds of his tenants to the back of his mind, locked the key, and listened to his friends.

"You covered Mizuki-sensei in leeches?" Ino asked, horrified.

Unable to stop himself, Naruto chuckled once more.

"Which means," Kiba said in between bites of ramen. "That Sasuke is now the one looking like he's got a real bad case of hypothermia."

Everyone stared incredulously at the dog boy, who ate a couple more bites of ramen before noticing the silence and that he was the object of attention.

"What?" he asked.

"I believe, adjudicating by all and sundry's rather poleaxed reaction, Kiba, that this company is vaguely flabbergasted that you would know not just the expression hypothermia, but that this particular medical condition includes the reasonably disconcerting symptom of turning its sufferer's outer membrane into the most common of the primaries in color."

Kiba hazarded a guess at what Shino had just said. "You guys find it difficult to believe that I know what hypothermia is and that it turns people blue?"

Shikamaru waved a hand, lazily. "It's a bit of a drag, but that's the gist of it."

Kiba shrugged. "My sister is a vet. There was this one day, a couple of weeks ago now, when she was treating an Inuzuka hound by the name of Shiki. I mean honestly, Shiki? What kind of showy name is that?"

"_Indeed,"_ Shinigami murmured.

Naruto frowned. "Wait, Shiki? No ears, scar on its muzzle, a yellow ruff and a right old bastard?"

Kiba nodded, chuckling. "Yeah, he isn't the nicest of dogs, but anyway, his owner woke up one day to find out that someone, somehow had drugged him and given him a full body shave, except for his, you know…equip-"

"We don't need to hear anymore, Kiba!" Ino said hands clapped over her ears.

Anko chuckled appreciatively, looking out at Naruto who had nodded satisfactorily at Kiba's story.

"Anyway, let me tell you, after you walk downstairs in the early morning to see a bright blue, shivering mass of naked dog, that when someone tells you it has hypothermia, you're going to remember what the heck hypothermia is, right Naruto?" Kiba finished, nudging Naruto, who had been sitting next to him, with an elbow.

"It wasn't my fault! The bastard bit me anyway, he deserved it!"

Anko roared with laughter at the dumbstruck expressions on the academy students faces. She never thought that hanging out with young kids could be so much fun. Hinata just sighed. Arlia, on the other hand, was saying something about the "poor puppy."

"Me and my big mouth," Naruto muttered.

"Waait, that was _you?"_ Kiba said, slightly shell shocked.

"I deny everything," Naruto said flatly.

"How on earth would you manage something like that, Naruto?" Sakura asked, slightly amazed.

"According to my dad," Choji interjected, "Naruto has broken into the ANBU headquarters before without anyone knowing it, so it's not really that big of a surprise to me."

The rest of the rookies looked at Naruto, gob smacked. Naruto just hunched his shoulders.

"How did you prove it?" Anko said, taking a drink of sake.

"I drew a chibi face on the back of Ibiki-san's head."

Shino found himself wearing Anko's sake as the purple haired woman coughed and gasped, struggling to catch a breather.

"Dude! Nice work!" Kiba said, giving Naruto a high five. "But why didn't you shave all of him."

"Despite what Shiki did, he didn't deserve to be blue balled." This comment went over the kids' heads, Anko's as well, but that was only because she had fallen to the ground. Arlia, however, groaned, that comment would give her husband a field day.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted, somehow conveying that although he thought that this was all highly amusing, he was still covered in blue paint and had no wish to remain so.

"Alright, alright, teme! I'm sorry, here, if you want, I've got a shirt underneath this jacket, you can wear that until you get changed."

Sasuke frowned for a moment, then grunted "un," meaning that 'I find this to be suitable to the present time, thank you commoner.' Naruto reckoned that he was getting quite good at interpreting Sasuke's grunts. He just hoped that it wasn't a sign that he was turning emo.

Quickly, Naruto took of his jacket and removed his shirt, or tried to. It chose that moment to get stuck over his head, leaving the occupants of the ramen stand an unimpeded view of his well-developed abs. The guys and girls all had very different reactions. Among the guys, Sasuke and Kiba immediately mentally added another hundred sit-ups to their exercise regimen. Choji carried on eating while Shikamaru couldn't care less. Shino, although he would never admit it, felt superior. There was a reason why all the Aburame men covered up their bodies so much. Among the girls, Sakura and Ino tried to assure themselves that Sasuke's were better. Hinata just had a slight trickle of blood come from her left nostril.

After finally getting his shirt off, Naruto passed it to Sasuke, who nodded his thanks before removing his own, paint-covered shirt. He froze halfway as he did so and closed his eyes, realizing for the first time that, although they had gotten better, he had just removed an item of clothing in front of two of his most avid fangirls. Quickly, he shucked his shirt and grabbed Naruto's, telling himself over and over again that if he did not glance at them, he would be all right. Despite this, he still looked. Both girls were looking at him, no, staring at him with stars, freaking stars, in their eyes and a line of drool was starting to come from the corner of their mouths. Opening their lips, they let loose their battle cry of a loud, fangirlsh squeal before beginning their charge at Sasuke.

That squeal entered Anko's ears, bypassed any and all inhibitors within her brain, and gave the little rage man inside of her a good kick in the nads. In under a second, Anko had wrapped both preteens up in a snake coming from inside each sleeve and left them tied on the ground.

Slowly, Anko got to her feet. "Look, girls," she said smiling at the two of them. "I like you, I actually do. Which is why you will not be subjected my usual punishments for fangirls, I'm going to give you one chance. And, since I am so kind and generous…" here Anko paused, slightly. Not being stupid and having a snake breathe in their faces led both girls to start spouting a whole load of codswallop, in Naruto's opinion, as to how great Anko really was and to thank her for being so generous to them, the poor miserable beings that they were. Naruto mused that they only admitted to that because, at this point, Anko's level of Killing Intent was quite impressive. "So, today I am going to teach you a lesson," Anko continued, waving her hand to halt the noise of her captives. "This is something that, if used in the proper circumstances, will almost undoubtedly save your life in the field one day."

At this, everyone looked at Anko, interested. Slowly, Anko released the girls from her 'babies' and did three hand signs, before slapping her hand against the ground and becoming enveloped in smoke. Her seemingly bodiless voice came from within. "Lesson number 32 'Holy Shit Don't get eaten by the giant summon!' has begun."

_Flashback end_

Despite this, Sakura in particular was beginning to show glimpses of the woman that she would one day become.

Naruto, naturally, took full credit for Sakura's transformation. Although it had taken a while to get through the teme's thick skull, Naruto had finally been able to teach the emo Uchiha that not only was it an effective training regiment, running could sometimes actually be the better option. Here, Naruto had to ignore Kyuubi and Shinigami's laughing at the hypocrisy of the blond. It had been surprisingly easy.

_Flashback_

"There is no way that this could ever really be _that_ useful," Sasuke complained. "The tree walking I understand, but the ability to run? Everyone can do that, dobe."

Naruto sighed. "Alright, teme, then why don't you come do some training with me and Hinata-chan tomorrow morning?"

Sasuke had begrudgingly agreed. "Alright Sasuke," Naruto called. "Spar with me! The first one to land a solid hit wins."

"Wins what?" Sasuke asked. Naruto frowned, thinking for a moment.

"Ramen!" he said, his face clearing as he went with the old stand-by. Sasuke sighed.

"But what if I win?" he asked.

Naruto smirked, almost arrogantly. "Whatever you like. You won't touch me." Sasuke growled angrily. Hinata acted as the proctor and called out for them to begin. Sasuke charged forward and Naruto turned and ran. When Sasuke had halted, confused, he found himself pushed in the back as, using Sasuke's immobility, Naruto had quite literally run a ring around him. "Too slow!" Naruto called cheerfully.

And the chase began, once, twice, three times around Konoha, not a jog, or light run, but a full tilt sprint. Finally after several more laps, they arrived back in the field and Naruto, breathing lightly, cocked his fists at Sasuke. "Ready?"

By now, Sasuke was wheezing for breath. "I can barely stand," he gasped.

"Your opponent will not wait for you to be ready!" Naruto retorted savagely as he kicked out in front of him. Sasuke blocked desperately.

"The enemy will strike when you are weak!" A right cross was blocked.

"When you are distracted!" A left hook was dodged as Sasuke jumped back desperately.

"They strike when you cannot!" A heavy punch connected with Sasuke's face. He was thrown to the ground, breathing heavily.

Naruto crouched down next to Sasuke's almost unconscious body. "Shinobi run to their missions. If you don't practice running, then you won't have the speed or endurance to fight properly at the end of the long haul. Right now, all we really do is practice kunai, shuriken and taijutsu. We don't have a sensei to teach us nin or genjutsu, heck, most of us are just bumbling along in taijutsu anyway. Kunai and shuriken almost never end a battle, our taijutsu is necessary, but if you don't have the speed or endurance to back it up, then odds are that you will lose. I'm not a big fan of losing. Are you?"

The next day, he was there again, a fire burning in his eyes, ready to run again.

_Flashback end_

Shinigami had drilled into his head that during many ninja missions, speed was one of the most important factors, speed and endurance. Many times, ninja had failed in getting needed information to their superiors simply because they spent more time practicing their ninjutsu and not enough time running. Besides that, the speed and endurance that it gave would often give a shinobi a significant edge in battle. This running training also meant that Sakura had found it, at times, physically impossible to actually get close to the object of her affections. This resulted in Naruto actually being able to give her a hand, once he mentioned that he had taught Sasuke a thing or two. Naturally, Sakura had scoffed, but this had died down when Naruto demonstrated the tree walking technique for her. Once again, Sakura got it first time but the amount of time she could spend clinging to a tree was…pitiful. Right now, she could barely last ten minutes! And Hinata-chan could keep it up for over an hour!

Naruto had suggested that Sakura join them for their morning runs and normally, she did so, however, as of yet she had not been able to do the full routine, much less the sparring matches that they had with each other afterwards. But she was improving.

* * *

By now, Hinata had all but stopped her stuttering. 'Although,' Naruto thought, 'she does still occasionally go through those fainting spells and I've still got no idea why.'

At this, Shinigami and Kyuubi glanced at each other significantly, before they both sighed and nodded. They _knew_ what, or, more precisely, _who_ was the cause of that particular problem.

Concerning her grades, Hinata had been improving in leaps and bounds. By now, she was starting to chase Sasuke for the position of Rookie of the Year, although Sakura still beat her, and pretty much everyone else, when it came to the academic side of things. But Naruto knew that if she continued the way that she was going, then odds were that Hinata would end up on team 7. Although this worried Shinigami immensely, as it would completely screw up the timeline, Naruto was starting to find the idea of Hinata being on team 7 with him and Sasuke _very _appealing.

Speaking of Hinata and Sasuke, Naruto had gone to meet the two of them. Once Sasuke had _finally _mastered the tree walking exercise, he had continued working on it, at Naruto's suggestion, to build up his chakra reserves. To the Uchiha's credit, it had actually taken him a full day shorter to get the tree walking exercise down compared to the original timeline, but personally, Naruto placed all credit for that firmly on Hinata and her Byakugan. Although, with this combined with the running and sparring, Sasuke was by now wondering out loud whether or not he should add Naruto onto his list of "People who Deserve to Die," list. By now, it had actually grown to be quite large. Meh, he'd decide after he found out if he training had done any good.

After Naruto had ditched the feathers, making sure that he released the henge where no one could see him, he only had a little way to walk before meeting his two friends at the pier where Sasuke had first practiced his fireball jutsu.

"You're late," Sasuke said, broodingly.

"Sorry, there was a little old lady carrying groceries that needed some help getting them home."

"Did you h-help her, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked curiously.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, sheepishly. "Actually, no. This guy called Kakashi actually offered to help and I kind of fainted from shock."

The two of them just looked at him. Naruto sweat dropped. They would understand. One day, they would understand.

"Anyway…weren't we here to see something?"

Sasuke smirked as he went through his hand seals and shouted out "Katon: Goukyakku no Jutsu!"

A giant fireball, not quite twice the size, but far hotter than _any_ fireball that Sasuke had ever made before, issued from his mouth.

Naruto whistled appreciatively. "Not bad teme, not bad at all. Told you the training would give you results."

Sasuke looked at him arrogantly, a smirk starting to adorn his face. "Soon," he said. "Soon, I shall have the power to OWW!"

Naruto hefted a large stick. He had originally got this idea from Fukasaku and his stick that beat the nature chakra out of people. Therefore, he now had a stick that "beat the emo out of people." So far, he had found it to be quite effective, much to Sasuke's displeasure.

Hinata, however, maintained her silence. Watching the success of the others an comparing herself to both Naruto and Sasuke, just made her feel all the more inferior.

"Sorry Sasuke," Naruto said, grinning cheerfully, not looking sorry at all. "You were starting to go emo on us again."

"Hnn, dobe."

Naruto scowled. "Careful teme, or I'll ask Hinata to have another spar with you."

Sasuke shivered uncontrollably, reminded of the last time he had sparred with the Hyuuga heiress.

_Flashback_

When Naruto had originally suggested that Sasuke and Hinata have a spar using taijutsu only, Sasuke's immediate response was to act both arrogantly and with a rather superior air. It was rather obvious that he had thought that Hinata would be of little challenge to him. Naruto supposed that this was understandable. After all, he did not have that much experience with the fairer sex, (fangirls don't count) and Hinata was a girl.

"_Oh? So you __**have**__ noticed, have you?"_

With, by now, practiced ease, Naruto ignored his second tenant, for just a moment wondering why he had ever even agreed to allow Shinigami to stick around in his head anyway. Anyway, unlike Sasuke, Hinata did not have that fighter's look in her eyes.

"**THOSE BIG, BEAUTIFUL, LAVENDER EYES."**

Naruto's cheeks started to get just a little bit flushed. Not Kyuubs too.

"Alright, I'll act as proctor for the match. Taijutsu only, which means Sasuke, that if I see any fireballs, that I'll throw you into the middle of a horde of fangirls wearing only your boxers and covered in honey, m'kay?" Naruto said, his voice cheerful as he eye smiled at the horror struck Uchiha.

"Hajime!"

Sasuke immediately rushed in close to Hinata, figuring that if he got in close to her, then her shy manner would over whelm her and he would be able to end this farce quickly. His first attack was a rather showy, if powerful, sweeping kick to the face. However, much to his surprise, Hinata did not move from that spot, instead slipping into the splits and, with lightening fast hands, lightly tapped several points on his leg.

"_Damn, that girl is flexible!"_

Naruto nodded before stopping himself and groaned internally at Shinigami.

Surprised, Sasuke was nevertheless able to place his hands on the ground and bring his other leg across, this time striking his target and knocking Hinata to the ground.

Naruto growled unconsciously.

"_Down boy."_

Smirking, Sasuke stood his feet, only for his eyes to widen in shock as the leg that Hinata had touched almost gave way.

Shrugging it off, Sasuke nevertheless went on the attack while Hinata was still dazed. Or so he thought. In reality, Hinata was just playing possum and swiftly sent several blows at Sasuke, who automatically countered them with his family's Intercepting Fist. Sasuke gasped in pain as not only were his blows rendered obsolete, but also at the painful sensation of foreign chakra moving into his body.

"**THE GIRL HAS SKILLED HANDS TOO," **Kyuubi murmured to Naruto.

The blond blushed.

His fists no longer able to close, Sasuke attempted to backhand Hinata across the face, which was easily blocked, however, that left Hinata open to a knee to the stomach from Sasuke's good leg.

Finally understanding that he had to stay away from her hands at all costs, Sasuke and Hinata danced back and forth, each of them getting blows in, but grimaces of pain coming more often from Sasuke as even a slight graze from Hinata caused damage. This dodging style he was trying to use really didn't suit him and Hinata was graceful enough so that even if he tried to deflect her strikes, it still meant that he would take some damage. The fight would have been much more even if, due to his own arrogance, Sasuke had not allowed Hinata to virtually disable one of his legs in the first few seconds of the spar. Finally, Hinata sent a sweeping kick towards Sasuke's face, almost identical to the one he had started the fight with. Smirking, Sasuke held up his arms in a cross guard to block the kick, only to give a loud grunt of pain as the kick plowed through his guard, smashed into his face and sent him to the ground with a loud thud.

"_She's got a great ass too."_

Naruto blinked at this statement. Unlike the others, it was seemingly unconnected to the fight, or his…well, maybe it _had_ been connected to his thoughts, but…

'What do you mean?' he asked.

"_Look, when most people kick, the kick originates from the knees. Hinata's kick had a wider range of motion, increased leverage and more power. Why? I'll tell you, because her kick originated from her hips instead of the knees. Ergo, nice ass," _he finished. Arlia had explained the technique to him before, used it on him too.

"You are within range of my divination," Hinata whispered. "8 Trigrams, 32 palms!"

The fact that Hinata was already able to do this move left Naruto stunned. However, it shouldn't have surprised him that much. After all, Hinata had ended up having to almost completely teach herself the Gentle Fist after her father palmed her off to Kurenai, saying that she was a waste of space. This time, she had expert teachers, who actually didn't disparage her at her every attempt and Arlia, who helped build up her confidence to unprecedented heights, although he did not know that yet.

Sasuke tried, and failed, to get back to his feet. His whole body seemed to be one big ball of pain. He could not move.

"The Gentle Fist works by targeting certain p-points in the body. By pulsing chakra into those points, w-we are able to paralyze, or destroy the body. I t-targeted your legs in p-particular. By now, they should be numb. You can n-no longer move. I…I've won…?" Hinata asked, her voice surprised.

"**HEY, KIT, I'D BE WILLING TO BET THAT YOU'D LIKE TO MAKE IT SO THAT **_**HER**_** LEGS AR-"**

'SHUUUUUUT UUUUUUUUP!' Naruto roared in his mind, trying to stem the steady flow of blood that came from his nose as he did so.

_Flashback end_

Hinata, perked up a bit as she remembered her previous success when it came to fighting with the last Uchiha. Sasuke was bigger than her, stronger than her and faster than her. All of this led to him severely underestimating her. After the regular plethora of Juuken strikes she had dealt him, Sasuke now had an irrational, if reasonable, fear of the slight girl.

"Alright," Naruto said, clapping his hands together and rubbing them enthusiastically. "Next item on the agenda is another chakra control exercise."

Sasuke groaned. The last time that Naruto had made him do a chakra control exercise, he had ended up spending a night in jail after he spent ten minutes running from an ANBU patrol, while wearing a henge of Naruto and trying to keep a pair of leaves stuck to this body. It had been surprisingly easy to get them to chase him, almost disturbingly easy.

"Next thing that we'll be doing is water walking," Naruto said with a slightly sadistic smile. "And teme, I know the perfect place…"

* * *

After leaving a cursing and swearing Sasuke at the hot springs, Hinata had already gone, Naruto made his way to his parents house once again. This time though, he made sure that he double and triple checked that he was not being followed. As he got to the front door, he did not even bother to give the door any blood. Not that he needed to, as the seal glowed orange as soon as he touched the handle. 5 minutes later saw him in his parent's room, getting geared up for his visit to the Hokage. He had made one more change to his uniform; he had added the Namikaze clan emblem on his left shoulder. Biting his lip, he stuck the tip of his tongue out of the corner of his mouth as he went over his kit. Kunai? Check. Shuriken? Check. Wire? Check. His mom's sword? Check. But there was still something missing…Naruto grinned as he opened up his dad's top drawer and took out the tri-pronged kunai that lay within.

"Now, I'm ready," he whispered.

"_Good luck kid,"_ Shinigami said.

"Let's go," Naruto whispered as he drew his mask up and over his face.

* * *

Sarutobi eyeballed the mountain of paperwork in front of him, wandering vaguely if burning the lot of them was a viable decision. He sighed long sufferingly, probably not. Knowing his luck, it would most likely cause a diplomatic incident. Sarutobi grumbled as he got ready for a hard nights slog. A sound came form the seemingly empty room. Immediately, Sarutobi's grumpy expression became that of the hardened veteran that he really was, as he stood in a loose stance, kunai at the ready.

"Show yourself!" he commanded, searching he room.

"Still as sharp as ever, Hiruzen," a voice answered. "Although, a little slower than you once were," it said in a musing tone.

Feverishly, Sarutobi swept his eyes over the room, yet he remained completely calm, focusing on every single detail. The bookcase, the empty easy chair, the rug and the pot plants. The Third looked back over the room once more. This time, the room was no longer empty.

A man, dressed in black, with both of his hands folded behind his head was lounging in the chair with supreme ease, his booted feet propped up on the Hokage's desk in front of him. His entire posture was completely unthreatening and simply oozed confidence.

"Who are you?" Sarutobi asked, his voice as hard as steel, yet tinged with the smallest hint of curiosity. After all, it was not often that someone broke in to the Hokage's office, with such unconcern…besides Naruto, that is.

"No-one of importance," the figure said lazily as he lifted a heel and thumped it down on a spot on the desk seemingly identical to the rest of it. Except, it was actually a very specific point on the desk. As a button was depressed, it caused a secret compartment at the back of the desk to pop open. Hiruzen's eyes widened exponentially. Only the Hokage and his most trusted allies knew of that compartment. Whoever this person was, he was most certainly not someone of no importance.

His movements still lazy, slow and unthreatening, the figure made a cross shaped seal, causing a shadow clone to pop into existence. Hiruzen's eyes narrowed and he tensed. The bunshin had appeared behind the desk and with no tell tale poof of smoke to give away its presence. This indicated that this person had a high degree of expertise with this jutsu, which was worrisome as even he was normally hesitant to use such a chakra draining technique. The bunshin simply pulled out a sake bottle and a pair of saucers out of the compartment, raising an eyebrow at the Gold Edition of Icha Icha placed next to the bottle of alcohol. Naruto smiled laconically as it did so. Tsunade had shown this to him after Jiraiya's death. It had ben the first and only time that he had ever seen that woman weep.

"Come, Lord Hokage," the man said with a smile. "Share a drink with me."

Warily, the Third Hokage took his seat behind the desk, ready to defend himself if need be, his hand drifting to rest on a very different button to the one that this stranger had just pressed, one that would call his shinobi to his office in a moments notice. He would let it be for now though. He was not the Hokage for nothing and this man was not yet a threat.

The clone acted as waiter, pouring a pair of drinks into the saucers and placing it in front of them before dispelling itself. To see someone using that particular technique for such mundane purposes was…unsettling to Hiruzen.

"A toast!" the man proclaimed, raising his saucer to the sky.

"What to?" Sarutobi asked as he blatantly formed the four necessary hand signs for a diagnostic jutsu in front of the man in order to check for poison. There was none. The man just chuckled at his paranoia. Well, honestly, what did he expect?

"To the Namikaze clan," Hiruzen's mysterious guest said, with a firm nod of his head.

The Professor nodded slowly in reply. "Aye, I'll drink to that." As one, they tapped their saucers together and downed their drinks in one go, slamming the empty saucers down onto the bare wood of the desk.

Sarutobi poured them both another drink, hoping to stall for time and to learn a bit more about this person. "The Namikaze," Hiruzen said as he sighed. "A great and honorable clan," he said, taking a sip from his saucer of sake.

"My clan," the man in front of him whispered.

Sake sprayed across the room from the flabbergasted Hokage's mouth as he spewed it out in shock.

"Who are you?" he asked again.

The Namikaze shrugged. "If you have to know me by some moniker, then I suppose that you could call me by the same name that the Hyuuga now know me by – Yurei."

Sarutobi frowned. Although he was, of course, aware that there had recently been a rather large incident within the Hyuuga clan, which had been reported to him by both Anko and Kurenai, he had not been able to find out the reason why. After all, the reason would have had to be pretty damn huge to get the entire Hyuuga clan to apologize to their heiress for their…less than cordial behavior. Sarutobi had the inkling of an idea that the reason sat in front of him right now…

"What was it that you did to the Hyuuga clan?" he asked quietly.

He shrugged. "I gave them motivation to treat those they think beneath them with kindness, or at least, without visible contempt."

Sarutobi chuckled. "That sounds like a heck of a lot of motivation."

Yurei chuckled. "You have no idea. The deserved it though. As a Namikaze, I could not allow them to carry on with what they were doing."

Hiruzen cocked his head at Yurei. "I thought that after Minato's death, the Namikaze clan was extinct."

Yurei barked out a laugh. "Minato was always good at keeping secrets, wasn't he?" Sarutobi nodded in unconscious agreement before stopping himself as Yurei continued.

"His secret techniques, his wedding, his wife, me, his son…"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes became glacial. "I am sure that I have no idea what you are talking about. And if you are wise, you will take up my example."

Yurei just waved a hand at him. "I'm not going to harm Naruto, or let any spies know about him being Minato and Kushina's kid. He's family."

The Third glared at him. "Oh? Then tell me, why were you kept a secret."

Yurei looked into the distance. "I was kept secret from the village. Despite this, Minato loved me, he believed in me and when he hit the wall, when there was nothing else he could do, I was the one that he used. I believe that you have someone who works in the shadows?"

Sarutobi grimaced. Yes, yes he did and if this man was anything like Danzo, he would make a dangerous opponent.

"What is it that you have been doing for the last few years?" he asked.

Yurei shrugged, but inside his mindscape, Naruto was beginning to sweat. So far, he had told the Hokage nothing but truth, although he had twisted it a little bit. Despite his success with fooling Hiashi, he could not do anything resembling Sage Mode or odds are that he would immediately be attacked.

"Travelling, fighting, gathering information and looking for a certain Uchiha."

Sarutobi blinked. "You've been looking for Itachi?"

Yurei shook his head.

"Who then? There are only two left, Itachi and Sasuke, and Sasuke has never left Konoha."

"You're wrong," Yurei said quietly. "There is a third Uchiha still alive. He was the one who ripped Kyuubi out of Kushina. He was the one who set the great fox against the village. He is the reason that Naruto now has his burden."

The armrests of the chair Hiruzen was sitting on snapped like a twig in his suddenly iron grip. Steeling himself, he pressed the 'panic button.' He needed to have a long talk with this person. Clenching his fists in front of him, he asked a question that had been plaguing him for years. "This man would have taken Kushina from the room where she was about to give birth, correct?"

Yurei nodded. The knuckles on Sarutobi's hands whitened. "Then he killed my wife," he breathed.

"I'm sorry."

Raising one clenched fist, the Professor thumped it hard onto his desk, the force of it sending his papers everywhere.

The Namikaze's voice interrupted the Third's cursing.

"Do all of the Kage have this much paperwork to do?" he asked curiously. Hiruzen just sighed.

Yurei smirked. "I remember a certain blond haired Hokage who used to hate paperwork with a passion." Hiruzen chuckled, remembering his successor and, sadly, predecessor. However, he froze when Yurei continued.

"I never understood why, though. After all, there is a relatively simple way of getting around it."

"You know the secret of defeating the menace of paperwork?" Hiruzen Sarutobi breathed out in wonderment, glad that the man had given him a distraction from his grief.

The Namikaze nodded his head slowly, a small smile hidden behind his mask.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, known by both friend and foe as the Professor, veteran of 3 World Wars, feared as the Kami no Shinobi, student of the Nidaime and sensei of the 3 legendary Sannin, got on his hands and knees in front of the disguised Naruto and begged.

"Master, please, I beg of you! Teach me your secret!"

Naruto looked incredulously at the Third, a man who he had looked up to for most of his life, groveling on the ground in front of him. He smirked, slightly. If only he could tell everybody that the Hokage was groveling at his, Naruto's, feet.

Naruto waved his hand at Hiruzen, lording it over him. "Well, it's quite easy. All you have to do is–"

"**KIT!"**

Naruto reacted quickly to Kyuubi's warning. He had been so completely dumbstruck by the Old Man's actions that he had not sensed the presence behind him. In an instant, Naruto had flipped over the back of the chair, a low powered rasengan glowing in the palm of his hand as he thrust it towards the one who had sneaked up behind him. But it was all for naught, as the strike to the back of his neck by the butt of a kunai from a second man sent him deep into the blackness of unconsciousness.

* * *

Gai chuckled nervously as he looked down at the palm that was pressed against his chest. A palm which, mere moments ago, had contained one of the most powerful close ranged techniques known to the Shinobi world. "Thank you, my eternal rival. I must admit, I'm not really built for all this sneaking around. That one was much closer than I'd like to admit."

"You've spent too much time in head to head combat situations, Gai. You need more work on you assassination skills," Wolf said.

Kakashi shook his head, staring at the man that he had just knocked unconscious, his sharingan eye revealed.

"It's not just that, Tenzo," Kakashi said to "Wolf," who sighed at Kakashi's stubborn habit of using his name. "Gai was fully concentrated at moving quietly, which is why his opponent got so close. I admit, he's gotten a little rusty, but we were _all _surprised when the man acted."

Wolf nodded. "Luckily, you had already unveiled your sharingan," he said.

"Or I would have been in a most unyouthful situation," Gai muttered.

Again, Kakashi shook his head. "That rasengan was to disable, not to kill…but if the Hokage had not distracted him with his little act…"

He stopped when both Hawk and Cat entered the room, who blinked at the unknown man seemingly taking a nap on the carpet. The Third jumped into action. "Hawk, take this man to the interrogation room 3 and summon Inoichi. I'm going to need to take a look inside this man's head. Cat? Summon Hiashi to the same room. If he protests, tell him that we have a man called Yurei in custody." Saluting with their fist over their hearts, the two ANBU left the office, Hawk dragging along Yurei with them.

Quietly, Hiruzen shut the doors to his office and activated to sets of seals. One of the seals was for preventing exit and entry to his office via sunshin, the other a simple sound barrier, which would render their conversation private.

"Well," Hiruzen said, turning to the three men in the room, "normally, I'd congratulate you for arriving so promptly after I pressed the panic button." He smiled at the men in a grandfatherly way.

"It was nothing Hokage-sama!" Gai said. "We managed with the full power of-" he came to a halt as the Hokage held his hand up, indicating that he should stop.

Still smiling kindly, Hiruzen continued. "But do you bastards realize that he was just about to tell me the secret to defeating paperwork?"

The three Elite Jonin broke out into a cold sweat as they saw the fiery gleam in the old man's eyes.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiashi was sitting in his study, playing a game of go fish with his two daughters. While doing so, he tried to encourage both of them to talk to him. Hanabi had started doing so immediately, but Hinata…at first, she had not said a word.

"_Deep down, she still believes that whatever you are doing for her now is nothing but an act. And frankly, I don't blame her."_

Hiashi grimaced slightly. He had started these nightly meetings with his daughters three weeks ago, the day after some rather…harsh words from Uzumaki-san. His words may have been harsh, but they were also nothing but the truth. Even now, they continued going through his head, hammering each and every point in over and over again. On the first night, Hanabi had been the only one who spoke. Hiashi had looked at her with a sense of pride before looking at his daughter who crouched in on herself, barely able to make eye contact. This had been the first time that the three of them had been alone in a room together since…since he could not remember. Hiashi had snorted quietly. This was supposed to be his daughter? The heir of the Hyuuga clan?

"_Do you know how much she __**wishes**__ that she did not belong to her clan, because of you?"_

Hiashi had jumped when Uzumaki's words had first gone through his head. Once he had got back to the Hyuuga clan house, he had dismissed them out of hand as he felt the security of his castle overwhelm him, washing away his negative thoughts. He had first called his daughters together because of a niggling doubt that had just refused to leave his mind. He had thought that he would prove that upstart Jinchuriki wrong. He had failed in that endeavor.

Although he had listened to Hanabi's words and spent time replying to her, he had kept Hinata in the corner of his eye the whole time, even as she served them tea. Hiashi had left his untouched for most of the evening, until he noticed that Hanabi had been doing the same and Hinata had now shrunk even deeper within the collar of her jacket. Sighing, long sufferingly, he had taken a sip, only for his eyes to widen in surprise as the taste seemingly started a concert within his mouth. "It's good," he muttered, which prompted Hanabi to immediately taste some herself.

Looking up once more, he was completely shocked at the change in expression after just that one word. Hinata was smiling and it was if she were an entirely different person.

"_Do you know how much she longs to hear just a kind word, because of you?"_

Seemingly every action that Hiashi did just drove in the points that Naruto had made to him. After the third night of them just sitting there doing nothing, Hinata had brought in a pack of cards so that they would be able to pass the time. That night, she had started to get in to the game and there was this one strand of her that had fallen out of place. It had irritated Hiashi to no end and so, after it had stayed there for just over a quarter of an hour, Hiashi suddenly moved his hand to brush it over her ear. Hinata flinched. He, her father, had moved his hand toward her face and she had flinched. It had been small, this was true, but it had still been there. An involuntary frown crossed his features and Hinata had been quick to apologize profusely. Hiashi had been confused at her actions. Why would she react so strongly the suggestion of a touch and then make such a big deal of it?

"_Because she was afraid that you would take it as another sign of weakness and beat her for it."_

Naruto's voice ran through the Lord's head. Oh.

Despite that though, Hinata was still very shy around her family. But there were times when just a glimpse of her true personality would show and it made Hiashi…curious.

Hiashi began watching his daughter, following her around in his spare time with almost the same enthusiasm as his target had once watched a blond boy. To his ever-increasing horror, he found out that most of the things that Naruto had told him were true. Five days of watching, one of the branch members' young daughters, about four years old, came to Hinata crying and with a skinned knee. Hiashi had soured a bit at this. A Hyuuga should be stronger than this. However, imagine his surprise when Hinata immediately took the girl to her own room. Once there, she fussed over the girl like a mother hen, comforting the crying girl. Once she had her sitting on the bed, she bought out a cream that she rubbed into the graze, making soothing sounds with her voice as the girl winced at the stinging sensation. Hiashi's eyebrows rose as new skin was in place of the graze once Hinata had finished. How had her creams gotten so good?

"_It's for her own use after her training sessions with her 'family,' so that no one else will know how often she gets beaten at home."_

Hiashi blanched. Practice. That was how.

Focusing his Byakugan on the two girls lips, he was able to understand the gist of the conversation going on between them. Hizashi had always been the one who specialized in lip reading, although Hizashi had never been as good as his big brother in reading body language.

"Next time you hurt yourself, Higashi, you should go to your mother,"Hinata said.

"But Hinata-samaaaa, kaa-san might be with tou-san!"

Hinata smiled and kneeled down to Higashi's level. "So?"

The child beckoned Hinata close to her and whispered to her behind a covered hand.

"He's scary?"Hinata asked.

Higashi nodded. Hinata smiled at her. "Yes, fathers can be scary sometimes. But you love him don't you?"

Higashi nodded. "And he loves you, so don't be scared of him, OK?" Hinata said.

Higashi grinned and nodded excitedly, then she stopped with a frown.

"Hinata-sama, do you love your father?"she asked with a child like innocence. Hinata just smiled and held out her hand to the girl.

"I love and respect my father more than anything."

Hiashi felt sickened as the voice of another man came to him.

"_Her __**father**__, who she loved and respected above __**all**__ others, constantly beat her, abused her, sent her into deep depressions and at times, almost drove her to suicide!" _

"Does Hiashi-sama love you?" Higashi asked.

Hinata's smile faltered. "Let's get you back to your kaa-san, alright?" she said.

Hiashi felt as if he had been kicked in the gut. She didn't answer the question. Why didn't she answer? Surely she knew he loved her?

A voice sounded off in his head once more, not a memory, this time, but his conscience, which still sounded suspiciously like Uzumaki-san.

'_When was the last time you __**told**__ her you loved her, dumbass?'_

With a great amount of effort, Hiashi had pushed that voice to the back of his head. He was just being silly. Hinata was probably just to shy to admit that he loved her. He still showed it didn't he? After all, he was her father.

Naruto's voice came to him one more time.

"_Funny, I am not too sure that I trust you to be her father."_

That night, for the first time since his brother's death, after carefully sealing his room to prevent both entry and the Byakugan eyes, the Hyuuga Lord had cried himself to sleep.

All of this led him here, sitting in his normally private study with his two children, playing a simple game of go-fish and, at the strangest times, feeling almost grateful to Yurei for giving him the chance to do so.

"Got any sevens?" Hinata asked innocently.

"Nee-chan, no byakugan!" Hanabi scolded her older sister, scowling slightly.

Hiashi gave a very small chuckle at the pout that adorned Hinata's features.

Three, heavy knocks came from the door. Hiashi schooled his face into his emotionless mask. He had left specific instructions that he should not be interrupted. Yanking the door open, he came face to face with Horensa.

"Yes?" he asked icily.

Horensa was rubbing his hands as he spoke to his clan head, clearing his throat before he did so.

"My apologies, Hiashi-san-"

"Sama!" Hiashi snapped coldly.

Horensa stopped briefly before starting again, the slightest tinge of distaste within his voice, clearing his throat once more.

"My apologies, Hiashi-_sama_, but you have a visitor."

The ANBU Cat bowed to the clan head. "Excuse me, Hyuuga-sama, but the Hokage requests your presence in Interrogation Room 3."

Hiashi looked through the open doors to the clan's open grounds, noting the black sky overhead and the wind, which, by now, had caused everyone to board up their windows. Even here he could hear its mighty howling.

"Now?" he asked, bemusedly.

Cat bowed at the waist once more. "He says that I am to tell you that we have a man called Yurei in custody." Both of the Hyuuga froze.

"I'm on my way," Hiashi said. Closing the door, he spoke to his daughters. "Excuse me please, I will be back as soon as I am able."

Hinata looked worriedly at him, with the weather as it was, that would not be the wisest choice. "Be careful, tou-san." Hiashi's heart swelled as he heard the concern in his daughter's voice. He found it endearing, while at the same time, he was annoyed that he found it so. Suddenly in a surge of boldness, Hinata stepped forward and hugged her father around the waste. Startled, Hiashi looked down into his daughter's face, taking in the detail of her slight blush, the closed eyes and the small, curving smile on her face. When was the last time that he had been given an embrace by his daughter? Slowly, jerkily, Hiashi placed his hand on Hinata's head. Hinata tensed, readying herself to be pushed aside. She was startled, however, when Hiashi just softly rubbed her head and stepped away.

"Ja ne, Hinata-chan," Hiashi said softly, before walking to the door.

As he came out of the study, Hiashi nodded at Cat. "Let's go."

* * *

Horensa was left alone, staring at the door to Hiashi's study, where the object of his hatred played innocently, unaware that her protector was in jail. Horensa rubbed his hands gleefully, indifferent to the moist feeling that it gave. This feeling was left over from a rather disgusting habit. Horensa was a man who was constantly clearing his throat, feeling as if he always had some mucus at the back of it. It would have been against Hyuuga decorum to spit and he found the idea of carrying a hankie or tissues around to be both repulsive and annoying, not to mention undignified. Instead, he would bring the back of his hand up to his mouth and deposit his sputum there, before continually rubbing his hands to make sure that it spread and dried.

He did this once more as he walked towards the council room of the Hyuuga elders. Walking in, he found that the clan's sealing master was also inside. Good. "Yurei is in prison. Get ready to apply the cage bird seal to Hinata."

Smiles glinted back at him.

* * *

Author's Note

I'll admit to that being a nasty cliffhanger, but the chapter was already over 10,000 words and this seemed to be the best place to stop. Please don't hurt me. Anyway, I'll try and get the next chapter up as soon as possible, I'm hoping for it to be epic. And please, no complaints about the grammar, I told you, it was this or waiting for another 15 days, at least, to upload! Thanks to all those who read and review my story, hope you liked the chapter. As always, read and review, but most of all, enjoy!

TwiceMarked out.

P.S. More reviews = quicker update. ^_^


	16. Escape

AN: Well everybody, welcome to another chapter of This Time as a Namikaze. From what I understand, several of you seemed think that I was a little bit evil with the last cliff-hanger. Yes, yes I was. Mwahahahahahahahah! Will it happen again? Yes, yes I will. Yes, I am evil. Sorry. I also had the impression that you were wanting this chapter to turn up a little bit sooner…well I _had_ actually finished it about last week, but it only got half way through, so I thought I'd carry on and it ended up being about 18,000 words… New record! So, hope you enjoy the next chapter! So, read and enjoy.

Disclaimer: I couldn't be bothered.

* * *

Chapter 15

Escape

Naruto did not make a sound as he slowly regained his consciousness. Instead, he kept his eyes closed and his muscles limp. The only thing that he did do was flare his nostrils slightly, taking in the smells of all those around him. Old man Hokage, Inoichi, Ibiki, several ANBU, and Hiashi. Oh, this was not good.

"_What was your first clue?"_ Shinigami said sarcastically.

"You can open your eyes now," Ibiki said. "I know that you've woken up."

"Well, of course you would, Ibiki-san," Naruto said conversationally.

The men around him stiffened at his cordial tone. Slowly, the Namikaze opened his eyes and looked around. His immediate reaction created a striking, positive, first impression: unlike how most would react if faced with this type of situation, he was not panicked, no not at all. Instead, his bright blue eyes were calm as they slowly moved around the room, seemingly looking straight through them, gathering all the information that he could. Despite being tied up, with chakra suppressors painted on his body, his body language made it seem almost as if he were the one that was in control of the situation. Inside, though, Naruto's thoughts were more along the lines of _'dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit.'_ Despite this though, he truly believed that he would not get hurt and that, although a setback, this was nothing more than a large annoyance. This overriding emotion of annoyance was what Ibiki and the others picked up on.

'Truly, a dangerous man,' Ibiki mused. Hell, he was supposed to have stayed knocked out for at least another two hours!

Before anyone else could do anything, a furious Hiashi stalked up to Yurei and, foregoing Jūken, drove his not-so-gentle fist into Yurei's stomach.

The masked man grunted. The reason that he _was _still masked was simple. The 'mask' was actually a part of Naruto's henge. This meant that despite their numerous tries to remove it, they could not.

"Now, what was the point of that?" Yurei gasped.

Hiashi's Byakugan activated automatically. "You threatened my clan." His voice was quiet, icy.

"That I did. You threatened mine first." Yurei's voice was quiet, deadly.

"Wait," Sarutobi interrupted. "He threatened your clan?"

"Aye, I did," Yurei said humorously. "As well as his own daughter. I objected. Strenuously."

"I thought that you would already know of this, Lord Hokage," Hiashi said, his voice confused. "One of my elders reported to me that he had already informed you of what had happened. He told me that you had said that we should ever remain silent on the subject, in case others would learn of Konoha's weakness." Hiashi fumed on the inside. He should not have trusted Horensa to actually be telling the truth. He was always one to push for the superiority of the Hyuuga clan. Horensa, Admitting such a weakness? He would have rather gouged out his own eyes.

"I am sorry to say that I did not get that message, Hiashi. What was it, exactly, that Yurei threatened your clan with?" Hiruzen asked.

"Genocide," Yurei answered, nonchalantly. Silence struck the room as all turned to Yurei, who was leaning back in his chair comfortably, staring at the ceiling. The other occupants of the interrogation room stared at the man who had talked of massacre so casually. It seemed somehow…ludicrous. Impossible.

"And you took him seriously?" Inoichi asked, incredulously.

"…He had a very strong bargaining position," Hiashi said cagily.

"What the Hyuuga Lord means to say," Yurei interrupted, his voice conversationally pleasant. "Is that once a person has taken out each and every single one of your guards, placed paralysis seals on every other remaining member of the clan, then dragged you around the compound by your hair, stopping only to enter the doors of your clan members and coming out with either a sword or a kunai dripping in red, then showed you the room where he had stuffed all the unmoving bodies of the ones meant to protect you, then you start to believe that he may just be able to back up what he says." When he finished with his monologue, Yurei smiled widely at the sickened group. But his eyes were cold, merciless. Even now, the mere thought of what they had done to Hinata was enough to send Naruto into a fury.

"You killed them," the Hokage breathed out, horror-struck, even as the more logical side of him knew that such a thing would have been impossible to hide.

Yurei shook his head. "No, I didn't kill anyone. There wasn't even a single long-lasting injury. After all, it was only a threat. I was just proving that I _could._"

A loud _thud_ ran through the room as Hiashi smashed Yurei in the face.

"You made me think my clan was dead!" he roared.

"And in doing so," Yurei said in a whisper, "I created an opportunity for you to stop being simply a clan and to become something more, a family. If your daughter knew about it, she may even thank me."

"Don't give me that! We-"

"I made a start!" Yurei continued, raising his voice and overriding Hiashi. "By forcing you to follow my rules I made a start in bringing you and your daughter together! When were you going to?"

Naruto's voice came into Hiashi's head, his words judgmental.

"_When were __**you**__ planning on starting? When your eldest child lay on her death bed after a mission gone wrong, or after she saves a teammate's life at the cost of her own, having lived her entire life believing that her beloved father hates her very existence?" _

"I don't regret anything that happened that night," Yurei's voice broke in to Hiashi's thoughts. "But the question is, the _real_ question is, do you?"

Struck dumb by the question, Hiashi battled internally within himself. Did he? Did he really regret what Yurei had done? Would he have preferred it if he had done nothing? An image of Hinata, her face pressed into him, with her arms not quite wrapped all the way around his waist appeared to him. She was smiling, one of the happiest smiles that he had seen in years.

"No," he whispered. "I don't regret it at all." Hiashi could see Yurei's approving smile behind that mask. Surprisingly, he also heard Uzumaki's voice one more time and, somehow, Hiashi knew that, after his vocal confession, this would be the last time that he heard it in this way, for a while at least.

"_About bloody time."_

"Then you understand the lesson that I was trying to teach."

Silence greeted this statement, before Hiashi just huffed and walked back to the rest of the group. He had much to think about.

The men and woman around him just stared, although Inoichi, seemingly unable to keep still, stood up and started pacing around the room. What manner of man were they dealing with? Apparently, they were dealing with a man who would attempt to bring a clan fraught with division together by simply giving them a common fear and a set of rules to follow.

"Who are you?" ANBU Cat asked, in morbid fascination as well as professional curiosity.

Yurei smiled and shook his head. "I seem to be asked that question increasingly often lately. I'll give you the same answer that I gave your Hokage. No one of importance."

"One of my elders expressed a suspicion that he was a Namikaze," Hiashi admitted, only slightly reluctant.

"In that, they were correct," Hiruzen affirmed. "That is, if Yurei can be believed."

As he said this, the Third made a slight motion with his hand. Inoichi, who had by now quietly made his way behind Yurei, stepped almost soundlessly towards him, his hand stretched out, reaching towards his head. However, almost soundless was just not quite good enough when dealing with the enhance hearing of someone like Naruto.

"I would not do that if I were you, Inoichi-san," Naruto said calmly, not even turning his face to acknowledge the Yamanaka Clan Head.

"But you're not me, are you?" Inoichi said brazenly, hiding his surprise as he grasped hold of the Namikaze's skull and entered his mind.

'_It's going to get real crowded in there,' _was Naruto's last, unheard thought before he fell into unconsciousness.

"Oof!" Inoichi grunted when he face planted into the bottom of what appeared to be a sewer, sending a large splash of water out in all directions. Groaning, he pulled himself to his feet, absentmindedly wondering if his nose had just been broken, again. The first time had been when he had first met Chouza. At the time, he had not been aware of the taboo word. Fortunately, that had been a time when Tsunade was still in Konoha. She had found the incident highly amusing, laughing about it with Dan. Inoichi froze, bringing his wandering mind to a screeching halt. Something was wrong.

Slowly, he observed the area around him. He was in another person's mind and the very laws of his technique meant that it was supposed to be virtually impossible for the user's own mind to be able to wander. Doing so could be most hazardous to one's health. The fact that he had done so completely unconsciously meant that he was in something that, although he had read about, he had never truly expected to see. He was in a mindscape, but not just a normal mindscape, a mindscape that the subject was both aware of and used _regularly. _ Which meant that there was the possibility that this mind might have some kind of defenses.

Inoichi grinned tightly, feeling something very much like excitement welling up within him. He was a past master of his clan's techniques, the undisputed mental inspector of Konoha. It had been a long time since he had had a real challenge in his field. No matter what happened, he would probably enjoy this. Breathing deeply, it was only through his now iron self-control that he did not wonder why it was that, despite being a completely incorporeal form inside a man's skull, he still felt the need to breathe. Methodically, the mind reader took in the details of the sights around him. The water that covered the floor for as far as the eye could see only reached mid-calf, which is probably why it did not provide much of a break to his unexpected fall. The passageway, or tunnel, that he was in was about eleven feet wide and the same length in height. However, above his head, the ceiling had several pipes that ran along its length. These reduced the height of the ceiling; so much at times that it caused Inoichi to duck his head. Behind him the passage seem to extend on into infinity, while the same was also the case in front of him. Spaced along at even intervals were torches, their flames crackling audibly. The flickering light that they provided was the only thing that held the darkness at bay. Inoichi chewed his lip thoughtfully. The question in need of answering was simple: which way did he go? He had two directions to choose from. One that would lead him to the memories he desired. The other would have him searching fruitlessly for hours. Closing his eyes, Inoichi concentrated, trying to feel something, anything. And in front of him, he sensed a hidden darkness, a darkness that weighed on Yurei's soul. That would be the best place to start. Making up his mind, Inoichi nodded and stepped forward. Immediately, the torches around him flared up, the fire burning an all-consuming bright orange in color. Inoichi was just able to make out the ceiling above him suddenly seeming to disappear as those conflagrations stretched up, clawing at the heavens themselves, before the sight burned at his retina, temporarily destroying his vision. Blinking rapidly, Inoichi opened his eyes once more. Everything was back as it was. The torches still crackled merrily. 'Almost innocently,' Inoichi thought suspiciously as he took a cautious pace forward. Nothing happened. Sighing in relief, Inoichi stepped forward once more. Abruptly, every single torch was snuffed out, leaving Inoichi wading in a sewer in the pitch black

"Crap," Inoichi summed up succinctly.

* * *

"Are you sure that this is a good idea, Arlia?" Hinata asked her friend as she used the tree walking technique to get to the roof of the council room of the Hyuuga elders.

"Of course it is, Honey, I did not like the look on that dirty old man's face. So, we're going to spy on them and see what exactly they are getting up to."

Hinata shrugged as she drew a practice kunai and, showing surprising aptitude for the task, used it to open the window and crept into the attic, closing the window behind her.

"Make sure you keep to the main support beams, Honey," Arlia advised absently before continuing with her conversation.

"After all, in order for them to actually get up off their butts-"

"Arlia-sama!" Hinata chided gently, somewhat used to the goddess's eccentricities by now.

"So sorry dear. In order for them to get off their _asses_," she emphasized the word, a smile tugged at the corner of Hinata's mouth. "And organize something like this, especially that old fart Horensa and during a storm no less, when all those old bones of theirs will be full of pain and aches…suckers."

"Just because you don't get old Arlia, you don't need to rub it in." Surprisingly, Hinata had quickly become the moderator of Arlia's more…rash habits. The surprising thing was that she actually managed this with a degree of success.

"Gomen, gomen," Arlia grumbled. "But the clincher is that they've done all this when your father is out of the compound. That just there is enough to send warning bells ringing throughout your head."

Hinata privately agreed with her. Which was why she was in the middle of doing something a little bit out of character for her and was actually spying on the elders. Best thing about it was, that thanks to their own inflated sense of paranoia, the Byakugan could not see through the ceiling, meaning that Hinata was perfectly hidden. Although, that worked both ways, as Hinata now had to rely on nothing more than her sense of hearing if she wanted to gather any information. There was just one problem…

"Can you hear anything, Hinata?"

"No, not a thing."

Arlia swore. Hinata, on the other hand, was doing something constructive. Fiddling around in her kunai pouch, she drew a simple storage scroll and unsealed its contents to reveal…a plain drinking glass.

"Dear?"

Ignoring her boarder, Hinata pressed the glass firmly onto the wooden ceiling, before placing her ear on the base. "Where did you learn that?" Arlia asked, surprised. Hinata mentally quirked an eyebrow at her. "Right, Naruto. Silly question."

The conversation suddenly jumped out to Hinata, enabling her to understand what was being said.

"Are you mad?" Takashi asked, his voice cracking at the end of his words.

Horensa answered, his voice rough. "Are you? We have, at this moment, the perfect opportunity to right the wrong that we have had committed against us!"

Takashi snorted loudly. "I'm not entirely sure about that, what guarantee do you have that Yurei is indeed in prison?"

Arlia gasped, the thing about staying inside a person, is that you are no longer aware of…well, everything. It was one of the things that Arlia normally found attractive about her situation. Now, though, it was just exasperating.

Hinata spoke to Arlia. She had been told that Naruto had persuaded her clan to apologize. Therefore, he had probably been the one that 'committed the wrong' against the Hyuuga…did that mean that Naruto-kun was in prison?

"Arlia, is Naruto-kun in trouble?" Hinata asked anxiously, speaking to the goddess silently, their conversation literally as fast as thought.

"If he isn't, then he's going to be," Arlia answered grimly.

"Is Naruto Yurei? What did he do to my clan?" she asked, worried for her friend and crush.

Silence greeted Hinata as Arlia tried to think of how to tell Hinata exactly what Naruto did without her feeling fearful of him. It would not be in her best interests to create a barrier in the progress of this relationship. Naruto being…well, Naruto, was quite enough of a barrier in itself thank you very much!

The conversation below them carried on when Horensa answered Takashi angrily. "An ANBU from the Hokage himself came and told Hiashi that a 'man called Yurei' was in custody and asked him to accompany them to Interrogation room 3. That is a fairly strong guarantee, is it not?"

Takashi grimaced. "It does seem almost certain that Yurei is imprisoned. But are you willing to risk it?"

"Yes," Horensa proclaimed immediately.

Another pause in the discussion below them gave Arlia the chance to reply to Hinata's question.

"Naruto, while calling himself Yurei, played a prank on your clan. A prank that, although no-one was really hurt, was still one of the most terrifying that I have ever seen. While doing so, he managed to open them up to the prospect of being not just clan folk, but kinfolk as well."

"Remember," Takashi warned, "he's a Namikaze, for all we know the man might just be testing us."

"If he were testing us then he would be testing Hiashi as well, we all faced him in that room together, or don't you recall?" The person who answered him this time was a woman, but Hinata could not make out who it was, her voice was too strangled as she spat the words out at Takashi.

Takashi, the youngest of the council, only a couple years older than Hiashi, snorted. "I remember everything that happened that night, _baa-chan!"_ He said the term derogatorily. "I remember being woken up in my own room, unable to move."

"We are forbidden to speak of it," Horensa hissed loudly. The council had made many safety nets to make sure that none of the Hyuuga clan would know just how badly they, as the elders and as the clan, had been humiliated. The most basic one was that they were not to speak of the event. At. All. Takashi was breaking that rule now, in part at least. "I remember," he continued, his voice rising above the usual stoic dignity that befitted a Hyuuga, "seeing a man bend over my body towards my wife with a knife in hand while I could do nothing. I remember the trip to the dojo. I remember each stop on the way here. Did you know that my eldest son was a guard that night? And I remember you, old woman, pissing yourself in fear when Yurei unleashed his KI. I remember you, Horensa, keeling over, with a stopped heart and Yurei bringing you back from the brink."

Horensa flushed angrily. This was the cause of his hatred. He had always believed in the superiority of the Hyuuga, the superiority of himself. He thought himself a great man, worthy of the title clan head. And in one fell swoop, Yurei had crushed the ideals that he had built his entire life upon. He had believed himself to be a ninja of unrivaled skill and then this man came and literally killed him with a look. He had never felt such deep seated, fervid, powerful, all-consuming fear, horror, in all his life as he had when he looked into those cold eyes that kept on flickering from blue to red, flaying his very soul as they did so. His heart had simply stopped. Horensa had _willed_ his heart to stop simply to get away from that scourging terror. However, even in that, Yurei had unfeelingly proved to be his superior, callously restarting his heart, not by some medical technique, but with nothing more than his own two hands. He had 'died' on Yurei's whim. He had been brought back on Yurei's whim. He was his complete and utter inferior. Never before had Horensa felt so weak. And it was all Hinata's fault.

"But most surprisingly," Takashi continued. "As Yurei spoke to us about what we had done to Hinata, I remember feeling _guilt_."

The entire room gasped at Takashi's highly controversial statement. In the rafters, Hinata had clapped her hand over her mouth, scolding herself for her outburst, but at the same time amazed at the support that she was getting from one of the elders.

"So," Horensa hissed, chocking out his words. "You would side with that _bitch_ out of feelings of what? Pity? Responsibility? _Guilt?_ We do what is best for the clan! We always have and we always do!"

"I don't just do this for Hinata! My concern is for the clan as well!" Takashi snarled. Surprised silence greeted this statement. Above his head, Hinata sighed. 'I supposed that it was too much to ask to have one of these…'

"_Say it!" _Arlia prodded.

'…To have one of these old farts actually support me.'

"Now, didn't that feel good?" Arlia asked with a grin.

'Yes it did,' Hinata admitted reluctantly, 'almost…liberating,' she added guiltily.

"They grow up so fast," Arlia sighed.

Down below, the pause ended. "Go on, Takashi," a voice said quietly, causing Hinata to strain her hearing to pick up his words. "Why is this a benefit to our clan?"

"Ever since that night," Takashi answered instantly, "Hinata has shown a remarkable improvement across the board. _Yes, Horensa,_" he stated loudly to the man, who had given a tremendous snort. "Even you cannot deny that. If she continues with this growth, she may one day make a worthy heir. And yes," he added, apparently satisfied at the great intake of breath that this declaration had caused, "yes, I did just say that. But that is all in the long run. However, in the short, Yurei may be in jail now, incarcerated, unable to do anything, but what type of certification do we have that he will stay that way, hmmm?"

It was Horensa that finally broke yet another uncomfortable silence. "Your..._concern,_ Takashi, has been noted, but the votes have already been cast and you are, significantly, outnumbered. Hyuuga Hinata will be branded with the Caged Bird Seal in ten minutes' time."

Hinata froze, feeling the bile rise to the back of her throat at her sentence. Arlia swore loudly.

"No," Takashi said calmly. "She won't be."

"…Excuse me?" Horensa asked incredulously.

"I refuse."

There was the abrupt sound of a Jūken strike being deflected, then another and another, before the unmistakable sound of it impacting solidly against flesh and the shouts of protest filled the area.

"You _will_ concede!" Horensa yelled angrily. There was no longer any need for the glass.

By the sounds of it, Takashi was laughing in Horensa's face. "Well, it can't very well happen now, can it? You just sealed all the chakra in my arm and in case you've forgotten, _I'm _the Hyuuga seal master! The only other person alive who knows how to make the cage bird seal is Hiashi himself!" Takashi sounded very smug with himself.

"That just means that the seal may not be perfect," Horensa said in a silky smooth voice. The blood drained from Hinata's face as she struggled to keep consciousness after hearing that voice. The only times she had been more terrified were when Kumo had kidnapped her, and when she had heard Horensa threaten Naruto-kun.

"You…you can't!" Takashi said.

"I believe that you were the one who painted the seal onto your youngest child's head?" Horensa's voice turned to a musing tone.

"Higashi!" Takashi moaned out involuntarily, his speech tortured.

Horensa's cruel laugh followed Hinata, ringing through her ears and lending her wings of fear as she slipped out the window and ran, ran for her freedom.

* * *

It felt like he had been walking for hours now. This man's mind was a maze, at times completely illogical and always, always…unpredictable. As of yet, he had not been able to find anything about the man, although it did not help that he was still walking in absolute darkness. The only thing that continued to draw him on, to act like a beacon to him, was that feeling of wrongness, a feeling of darkness. And now, he was almost within reach of it.

Finally, he was within sight of the stigma that had drawn him on like a moth to the flame. It was here that he found the astral form of Yurei. The man had been chained between two massive bars, by his wrists and his ankles, with his feet dangling high off the ground. A soft glow emanated from his person, reflecting off the dirty water beneath him, causing Inoichi to blink after the constant darkness. Upon seeing the chains, Inoichi sighed in relief; finally, something had gone right. The seals and defensive measures that had been embedded within Interrogation Room 3 had, at the very least, kept Yurei mentally bound.

"Hello up there!" Inoichi called. Yurei's bound head snapped up and he stared, startled into Inoichi's face.

The Yamanaka head smirked. "Did you not expect me to get this far?" he asked merrily.

"Come no further!" Yurei yelled and, for the first time, Inoichi could hear the slightest hint of panic in his voice.

The Mind Master snorted and stepped forward, only to leap back, as the floor itself seemed to shift and suddenly exploded into spikes. Inoichi gave a long, low whistle.

"You have a very strong will, to be able to instinctively bend your own mindscape to its whim. I'll bet that you were the one to turn off all those torches and you didn't even realize it, did you?" Yurei's silence was all the answer that Inoichi needed.

"Whatever you're hiding, you must really want to keep me away from it," Inoichi mused, before darting forward before Yurei could have a chance to react and he was in. He had slipped through the bars. Now he just needed to find out what the man was hiding.

"You fool," Yurei said softly, letting his head drop down to his chest as he sighed in defeat. "I wasn't trying to keep _it_ away from you. I was trying to keep _you_ away from _it_."

Inoichi turned to Yurei, puzzled and so was able to see the waters of the sewer rise up from their resting place, heaping upon one another before solidifying into something reminiscent of crystal. A flickering red light high up above him drew Inoichi's gaze to the ceiling. A bubbling, blood colored syrup seemed to be leaking from a non-existent crack in the ceiling. A single drop of it fell down; its glowing light drawing the eye before it hit the water below with a sizzle as steam rose from the surface. Slowly, with increasing speed, the roiling scarlet mass ate away at the ceiling overhead, opening itself up to an endless black maw high above that stretched on into infinity, its only feature a single pinprick of bright orange light. That small perforation of light was the first thing that was visible through the hole that the red…substance was coming from and slowly, it began to get bigger even as a greater amount of the blackness of the void was revealed as the ceiling was eaten away. Soon, the ceiling had all but disappeared and it slowly dawned upon a horror-stricken Inoichi that the light was not getting bigger, no, it was falling.

A pillar of fire was hurtling down towards him, the fire collected from the hundreds, perhaps even thousands of torches that had once illuminated the maze of this man's mind. Just before impact, Inoichi threw his arms up above his head, in a useless attempt to protect himself. However, the flames came in at an angle and crashed against an object that was still tens of feet off the ground, somehow still kept in darkness despite the blinding illumination that the firestorm had provided. Petrified, Inoichi watched as the flames washed quickly over the object, no, the being in front of him, finally revealing its huge frame to his eyes. A fox lay there, resplendent in his garment of orange, gold and dark, blood red as the inferno from above pranced over his form, each one of his nine tails coated in a different shade of fire, it's eyes a glowing scarlet. Slowly, the Kyuubi stood to his feet, stretching as if he had woken from a pleasant nap, his eyes closed, his fur lit with the fire of hell itself, yet he remained unburned. The great Fox opened his great jaws in a yawn and immediately, his cage was filled with flame, flame that danced over the surface of the water, flames that crawled over the walls and climbed into the air, leaving only a small half circle of refuge around Inoichi created by the strength of decades worth of protective seals and jutsu that had been layered into the room Inoichi's body resided in again and again. Yet despite that, Inoichi could still feel the insatiable heat of those flames, the fiercest of which came from the dark orange of Kyuubi's own flesh and the man knew, that the slightest flex of the demon in front of him would leave his mind and soul bare to the fox's touch, to its every _whim._

"Don't hurt him too bad, Fuzzbutt," Yurei called out loud, the chains forcing him in submission glowing a radiant cherry red, as more and more power was needed to protect Inoichi.

As Inoichi cowered in terror underneath the small percentage of Killing Intent that made its way through Inoichi's shields, Kyuubi bent his massive head towards him, cocking it so that he could regard him with one blood red eye. Seemingly making an opinion of him, Kyuubi opened his jaws, and _roared._

Kyuubi's breath roiled all throughout his cage, raising the flames higher than they had ever been. Yurei's chains melted abruptly, dripping harmlessly off his wrists and sending him to the floor as all available power was used to protect the clan head. Symbols sprang up all around Inoichi, glowing in a bright, silver light, before shattering into uncountable pieces with a sound of pealing bells. The Yamanaka could smell Kyuubi's fetid breath, could feel its damp warmness as it assaulted his skin. As the seals failed, unable to hold against the demon's mere voice, Inoichi could finally feel the heat of the flames and he could hear a voice throughout the cage, one whose icy coldness created a terrifying contrast to the fieriness of his body.

"_Blood so pretty, blood so sweet. Find the blood, drink the blood and crack the marrow. The prey has come, has come to us. Hear the screams, little screams, and loud scream, the pretty screams. Scream for us precious. SCREAM!"_

And scream Inoichi did, as fire and death came for him, reaching out with terrible, clenching fingers. Suddenly, a fist crashed through the crystal structure between the bars of the cage, where Inoichi had pressed himself against, in a vain attempt to get as far away from danger as possible. The hand grasped hold of his coat and in a single, violent motion, tore him through the once unbreakable wall, throwing him to the ground behind him.

The fire crashed against the bars of the cage and broke upon it, sending flames of a hundred different colors high into the air blending and combining with each other, creating an awesome display. Despite that same inferno almost being the cause of his death, there was only word that Inoichi could think of.

"Beautiful," he whispered, awestruck, before flinching as the great Fox howled in rage at his escaped prey.

Still barely able to move, Inoichi was hauled to his feet and found himself gazing into the Yurei's cold, angry, stony gaze.

"Get the fuck out of my head," he said simply, before slamming his forehead into Inoichi's nose, expelling him from his mind.

It was a great surprise to those who had remained inside Interrogation Room 3 for the past one and a half hours. After Inoichi had remained in the same position for more than twenty minutes, the Hokage himself had checked Inoichi's vitals to see whether he was all right. Fortunately, everything seemed to be going fine. As time dragged on though, everyone became increasingly worried. Suddenly, the seals of the room shattered, Inoichi was grimacing in terror and then, he flew violently away from Yurei, and was caught by one of the surrounding ANBU and propelled both of them into the wall with enough force to send a spider web of cracks running through it.

Inoichi lay on top of the ANBU's groaning form, eyes so wide that you could see the whites all around. He was hyperventilating as he gazed wildly around the room, trying to make sure of his safety.

The others turned their eyes to Yurei, whose sapphire stare regarded them all equally. Lazily, he twisted his head to the left and the right, cracking his neck.

"What happened?" Hiruzen demanded, his voice snapping out like a whip.

Yurei shrugged. "Inoichi-san just found out what happens when you enter the mind of a jinchuriki."

* * *

Hinata's first move was to protect Higashi. No matter what happened, she would not allow the child to be punished. She could attempt to escape the compound, but now that the elders had finished their meeting, the first thing that they would do would be to inform the guards that she should be taken into custody. She had lost any chance at taking that option the moment that she had decided to safeguard Higashi. Or had she? "Arlia? Could you give me a hand?" she asked.

"Who are you talking to Hinata-sama?" Higashi asked curiously.

"My invisible friend…" Hinata responded, slightly nervously.

"Oh, you have one too?" Higashi asked, brightly.

"Yes, yes I do Higashi," Hinata answered with a kind smile.

'Arlia,' she thought. 'Can you do anything?'

"Just a moment, dear. I'm in the middle of swearing up a storm," Arlia said, her voice slightly frosty.

"You mean you can't help me?" Hinata asked, feeling the beginnings of dread claw at her belly.

"Well of course I'm going to help you!" Arlia exploded. "Who does that old man think he is anyway? Threatening to seal you? Blackmailing the only elder who seems halfway decent with hurting his youngest daughter? I should storm in there myself and give him such a…"

"Wait," Hinata interrupted. Arlia was so surprised at this that she actually stopped her rant. "You said storm twice now. Can you make the storm any worse?" Hinata asked. "And if so, can you help me get through it?"

A slow grin spread across Arlia's features. "I'm afraid I can't, Honey, that's out of my area of expertise, but I know someone who can."

Arlia exited Hinata's mind, leaving her feeling almost lonely, despite having Higashi with her. She intended on visiting Susanoo, an old friend of hers. Normally, a god would never normally obey the whims of another. But Arlia had a couple of advantages over Susanoo. Number one, she was not normal, never that. Two, Shinigami was her husband and a jealous one at that. Three, Susanoo had once, in a drunken dare, mistakenly peeked on her in the middle of a shower. Jiraiya himself could attest to the fact that the beating administered by an enraged husband can trump that given by said husband's wife. That certainly was the case when Minato beat the snot out of him for appreciating Kushina's womanly form. Then there was also the case of Arlia's father. Unfortunately for Susanoo, Shinigami had found out about his infraction first. Not even halfway through his beating, the Storm God had gone running to Kami himself, admitted his crime and gladly submitted to his divine wrath. It was much kinder than Shinigami's unholy rage. One of the worst things about pissing off the death god is the fact that no matter what he does to you, you can't even wish you were dead, for not only would he grant said wish, but you would then be even more firmly in his clutches, in the heart of his own realm where, frankly, he could do whatever the hell he wanted to you.

This meant that until Shinigami forgave him and rescinded his…threats, Susanoo had effectively become Arlia's minion. She just had to threaten to flash him, wait for him to stop drooling and realize what that would actually mean for his health and voila, one Storm God begging for mercy.

Hinata therefore only had to spend about five to ten minutes dodging her clan while Arlia sorted things out, hashing out the details, making sure that no-one would actually get killed in the storm, Hinata would not want that on her conscience. Although, Arlia did make it quite clear that she did not mind Horensa getting struck by lightning, no, she didn't mind that at all. Making sure that no one died meant that Arlia also had to make a quick visit back home, where she told her husband's shadow clone that under no circumstances was anyone in Konoha to die that night from the storm. Once Arlia had got back and realized just how much time had passed, she was quite impressed with Hinata. Although it may not sound like much, dodging almost an entire clan, while dragging along a young four-year-old girl, while keeping her entertained was not nearly as easy as it sounded. Arlia put it down to a lifetime of avoiding them and being ignored by them.

"Alright," Arlia said in Hinata's head, causing the girl to jump slightly at her abrupt return. "You've got five minutes and then the storm's going to hit full force. It's going to last for about five and a half hours. In that time, you cannot get caught. You've got the first ten minutes as a window to get the heck out of here. After that, you're going to have to find shelter. It's going to be crazy for any normal shinobi to go out in the weather that's going to be going on here."

Hinata nodded. "Higashi? Would you like to sleep in my bed tonight?"

Higashi was star struck. Hinata's bed was much better than her own pallet in one of the communal branch dorms.

"Can I cuddle Foxy-kun?" she asked shyly. A tick mark appeared on Hinata's forehead. She knew it was unreasonable, silly even, but Naruto for some reason had always reminded her of a fox, hence the reason why she kept a fox plushy on her bed. And Higashi asking to cuddle it was something that she wasn't entirely sure she was comfortable with.

Shaking her head, she put a smile upon her face and said, "Yes, of course you can. I'll even make you some tea to help you sleep, m'kay?"

"Kay," Higashi said,

Four minutes later, Hinata exited the room after saying goodnight to Higashi. Higashi immediately got out of the bed and placed 'Foxy-kun' on Hinata's desk. She did not know why, but Hinata's expression when she had asked if she could cuddle the toy was…scary. All in all, it was probably a better idea to leave Foxy-kun alone.

Hinata crept along the corridor, making for the gardens. Once there, she should be able to make it over the walls and to sanctuary. Now if only…Hinata's heart sank. There, in front of her, was Horensa and a posse of branch and main house Hyuuga.

"Hinata Hyuuga," Horensa said with relish, rubbing his own spittle over his hands. "It has been decided that you are to be branded with the Cage Bird Seal."

* * *

After his declaration, Naruto had refused to say anything more, which was why he was now being hooked up to a machine that had not been used since the Second Shinobi World War. Simply put, it forced one to tell the truth, while at the same time projected memories of events up on a massive screen. It wasn't used that often because the chakra drain was _enormous_, constant and had to be supplied by the prisoner, in this case Naruto. For most people, the drain would be fatal, but they figured that if Yurei was indeed what he said he was, at this, Inoichi almost violently attested to the fact, then it should be no problem for him.

Finally, once the machine was up and running, Hiruzen asked the first question.

"Do you have any intention of harming Konoha?"

"No," Yurei answered instantly, causing many to give a sigh of relief.

"Are you a Jinchuriki?"

"Yes," the answer came from Naruto's lips unwillingly, but come it did, despite the fact that he had tried to lie with all his might so that he may prove that their machine held no power over him. Apparently, it did.

"Which of the Bijuu do you carry?"

Inoichi muttered a name that caused everyone in the room to tense.

"Kyuubi."

'Shit,' Naruto thought. 'What do I do now?'

"_Tell them the truth, only the truth but misdirect them like hell. I can fiddle around with some of the images that they see, change faces and the like, perhaps give my own point of view, but I can't do anything about what you say. You've always been pretty good at talking, kid, let's pray that it's enough!"_

"That's impossible!" Hiashi said. "Naruto is the Kyuubi Jinchuriki!"

Yurei laughed out loud, seemingly rueful. "Well, guess there's no point in hiding it. I've already told you, Hiashi, I was there at Kyuubi's defeat."

On the screen, flashed an image of the great fox, with Shinigami's arm coming for him, hurling his defiance and power against the death god, Minato standing in front of the fox, his back straight, proud. Kushina was at his side, her every line determined and she was looking down tenderly at the babe the both of them held, Naruto. Although the Shinobi around them did not know it, they were seeing things from Shinigami's point of view.

"That was the day when Minato sealed Kyuubi into Naruto. But that is not all that he did. Minato first split Kyuubi in two." The image showed Shinigami's taking half of Kyuubi's chakra into himself, from his own point of view, it seemed as if the jutsu was being used to seal that half inside a random person. "He sealed half into me." The Shiki Fujin was then used on Naruto, but not before Kyuubi ran both Minato and Kushina through with his great claws. "He sealed half into his son."

Uproar ran through the room at this statement. Naruto? The Kyuubi Jinchuriki, son of the Yondaime? It was not possible, it simply could not be and yet…

"Yurei!" the Third shouted. "That is an SS-class secret!"

"You're the one who has got me hooked up to this machine old man! It makes me tell the truth, remember? So I'm telling the truth!"

Hiruzen grew quiet as his ninja looked at him.

"What happened after the sealing?" Ibiki asked.

Yurei smiled tightly at him. "I am bound to answer the Hokage, not you Ibiki."

"How do you know my name?" Ibiki asked, hoping he'd let something slip.

Yurei looked at him, humorously. "We've already established the fact that I am related to the Fourth, Minato believed in me more than almost any one else and I was entrusted with a mission unknown to anyone else. Do you really think that I would not know the name of Konoha's top interrogation specialist? I know many things, Ibiki, hell, I even know about how you got those scars," he said in a droll voice.

Ibiki stiffened. Almost no one knew the full truth about his scars. How would this man know about it?

Yurei tilted his head slightly to the big man. "I admire you for your actions that night, and so, I'm willing to give you some information, say, a gift of respect."

The interrogation expert leaned forward automatically. After spending half his lifetime gathering information, he wasn't about to not listen when it was freely given, especially when there was no chance of it being false.

"Idate is alive," Yurei said plainly. Ibiki rocked back on his heels as if struck a physical blow. He had not been expecting that.

"What?" he breathed out the question.

Yurei nodded. "Yeah, alive and well as a matter of fact. From what I understand, he's working with a friend of Tsunade's, still as fast as ever."

Ibiki felt gob smacked, that last comment was the clincher; it convinced him that Yurei was indeed talking about his little brother.

"Yurei!" Hiruzen said, sharply. "You are here to answer questions, not mess with Ibiki's head." Naruto shrugged and turned to face the Old Man again. Indeed, that had been his objective. Ibiki, at that moment, was the most dangerous person in the room to him, even more skilled than Hiashi at detecting falsehood. But now, his mind was too full for him to pay all his attention on Naruto, which was a cause of relief to him. He struggled to hide a wry smile, Sarutobi had seen right through it. He still felt kind of guilty about it though. Ibiki was scary, but he was a nice guy as well.

"What was the mission that Minato gave you?"

"His son will complete that mission," Yurei said, softly. "To defeat the one who unleashed Kyuubi upon Konoha."

An image of the man who called himself Tobi appeared on the screen, his Sharingan eye clear for all to see.

"He's an Uchiha!" one of the ANBU said in surprise.

Yurei chuckled.

"Aye, 'an Uchiha,' that's what he is," the occupants could all hear the quotation marks in his speech.

"I've spent most of my ninja career chasing after 'an Uchiha.'"

Naruto could start to feel a strain now, as the machine rebelled against the half-truths he was telling.

"Why can you not defeat this enemy yourself?" Sarutobi asked.

Yurei shook his head. "I call myself Yurei and a spirit I am, nothing more than a figment of imagination. Hell, I'm not even registered as a ninja. Soon, Yurei will cease to exist and then, Naruto, who will be the last Namikaze, shall finish the mission."

The strain was beginning to pain Naruto now as he continued to speak in the third person and he instinctively pushed more chakra into the device. The strain eased. Naruto blinked.

"Wait," Hiashi said. "You said you _call_ yourself Yurei. Who are you?"

Naruto froze, his mouth dry with fear. The machine's compulsion began to act on him and Shinigami barely managed to stop the image of Naruto's own face coming on screen, cursing the limits that he had placed upon himself as he did so.

"Who are you, Yurei?" Sarutobi asked.

The pain redoubled, forcing Naruto to open his mouth. It was finished. He was going to tell them exactly who he was. He had failed. He would never become a ninja. Sasuke would join Orochimaru. After all he had done, his life effectively ended now. And what would happen to Hinata once Hiashi realized that the one who threatened his clan was nothing more than an eleven-year-old boy? At this thought, despair claimed him and Naruto hung his head, about to give up.

"**WEAK,"** Kyuubi's voice rumbled. Naruto jerked his head up.

"What did you say?" he whispered.

"Who _are _you?" Sarutobi asked once again, thinking that the man was talking to him.

"**AFTER ALL THAT YOU HAVE DONE, **_**MUTT,**_** NOT EVEN I EXPECTED YOU TO FAIL HERE." **Naruto had the feeling that this was a highly derogatory term.

"**PATHETIC DEAD LAST."**

Rage boiled in Naruto's breast as he answered their question.

"I'll tell you who I am. I am a man who has fought three of the Legendary Swordsmen of the mist. I am the man who defeated the Ichibi, Shukaku." As he spoke, the level of chakra that pushed into the machine as the determination and faith he had in himself rose as he remembered all that he had done. Images began flickering on the screen. Zabuza, hands raised in position for his Kirigakure jutsu. Kisame, with the Samehada over his shoulder. Raiga, enveloped in lightning. And Shukaku, the one tailed Tanuki, fighting what seemed to be an unleashed Kyuubi.

"I am the man who has fought against wielders of many Kekkei Genkai and proved myself their equal. I am the man who has defeated wielders of the Hyoton, the Sharingan, the Byakugan and crystal jutsu to name but a few. I am the man who fought the last user of the Bone Pulse bloodline. I am a man who has witnessed a fight between all three of the Sannin. I am a man who has entered Orochimaru's lair to find a friend. Thrice have I fought the Snake Sannin and once have I caused him to flee the battlefield."

Pain. Pain of a kind that Naruto had never faced in his life flayed at him. It seemed as if molten lead was being poured into his marrow. Red-hot hooks pulled his flesh from his bones. And yet it was not as painful as when he had the chakra needed to go back in time. And even that had not been as painful as when he had held Hinata's cooling corpse close to him and roared his agony to the heavens. Nothing could ever be that painful.

Hiruzen watched the screen unmoving as picture after picture scrolled across the screen: ice mirrors with an indistinct figure in the center, the Uchiha in the mask almost receiving a rasengan, a room full of unconscious Hyuuga, a woman surrounded by a pink crystal dragon. He saw his students fighting against each other with their summons by their side. There were several pictures of Orochimaru, the last one focused on him getting a powerful right cross right in the face that did not fail to bring a smile to his face.

"I am the man who has faced more S class shinobi than most have ever seen and I am still here. I have faced Itachi Uchiha, Kisame, the Bijuu without a tail, Sasori of the Red Sands, Deidara, the Artist, Kakuzu of Waterfall, Orochimaru of the Sannin and at least nine others of lesser infamy and yet I never rose above the rank of Genin. I am the man who has been eaten and then defeated the Sanbi."

The pain increased and so did the amount of chakra that Naruto forced into the machine. By now, the machine was beeping in warning and ANBU were running around, trying to figure out what was wrong, the drain that the machine would have on most people meant that it was 'impossible' for Yurei to be the cause of the problem. Images of the faces that Yurei spoke of kept on appearing. His talk of S class Shinobi of lesser repute had them worried. Even a single S ranked shinobi could be a threat to a village. The fact that they were not well known and yet still qualified for that ranking was something that could make them even more dangerous. A picture of the Sanbi with its head on fire had many gaping.

Naruto's voice was raised now as his own chakra began to swirl around him and the machine began wailing a high-pitched alarm.

"_I am a man who has looked the Shinigami in the face and spoken to him as an equal. I am the man who has survived a broken neck, a lightning encased fist thrust through my chest, twice, my heart held in the grip of another, being stabbed by the Kusanagi, being struck by the Raijin, being encased and crushed in hundreds of tons of rock. I am the man who has opened all eight of the celestial gates and survived. I am the man who has held the body of the woman he loves in his arms and almost sold his soul to the Shinigami so that he could see her again. I am the man who has become as a spirit, for none of those I have spoken of will even remember my face, thanks to my greatest jutsu. I am a Jinchuriki! I. AM. A. __**NAMIKAZE**__!"_

There was a rumble as the machine detonated from chakra overload and the building shook as a mighty crash of thunder seemingly exploded outside.

Yurei's own chakra discharged in a solid wave all around him, blasting all the occupants in the room to the ground. All save two.

"Kaiten!" Hiashi shouted, as his own chakra expanded in a dome, protecting him.

Seeing that Yurei's chakra had broken the cuffs that had chained him to the chair, Hiashi acted quickly.

"One hundred and twenty eight palms!"

Yurei fell to the ground, unconscious from his exertions and Hiashi's attack.

"Thank you, Hiashi," the Third said calmly as he stepped forward.

"Amazing that he was able to overload the machine," Hiruzen said quietly.

"Do you think it was still working?" Hiashi asked.

Hiruzen nodded. "Of that I have no doubt, but to be able to erase so many ninja's memories with a single jutsu? To open all eight gates and survive?" Hiruzen shook his head. "I can't let him go, not until I know who he is. And yet, how to hold him."

He turned, thoughtfully to Hiashi. "Hiashi, I am aware that you have dabbled in fuinjutsu. Do you have any that will be able to at least limit his chakra?"

Hiashi nodded slowly. "One."

"The Cage Bird Seal?" Hiruzen asked, sharply.

Hiashi shook his head. "No, an Uzumaki seal."

* * *

"So, Hinata?" Horensa asked, spitefully, the sparse light glinting off a gold ring worn on his right hand as he continued rubbing his hands together. "Do you have anything to say?"

"…The gods will be angry at you for this, Horensa," Hinata said quietly.

Horensa snickered. "I'll take my chances."

"In 5, 4, 3…"

Hinata shrugged, almost casually and raised her hands above her head. "Your choice." So saying, she clapped her hands together. The heavens were rent asunder as lightning struck the ground in a clap of thunder, directly in front of Horensa and perfectly in time with Hinata's clap.

"Gah!" Hinata shouted, pointing at the ground in front of them. Another bolt of lightning tore into the ground where she had pointed, sending several Hyuuga crashing to the ground as thunder ripped through the air. Arlia continued to direct Hinata on where to point as lightning, the spears of heaven, came down in a sheet in front of them, countless streaks of burning energy tearing at the outdoor dojo at the edge of the garden, striking between Hinata and the elders, yet none of it touched the gardens, Hinata's favorite place. Rain pelted down, soaking all who remained outside. Hinata raised her hands to the heavens in supplication and the largest strike of all tore into the ground between Hinata and those who wished her ill, the bright light blinding them for a few seconds, sending them scurrying, sightlessly, for the cover offered by the buildings. They regained their sight just in time to see Hinata slip over the wall of the compound and jump. The wind caught her in mid air, and was powerful enough to carry her three times the distance that she had intended to leap, before depositing her gently on the ground.

"_Get heeeerrrr!" _Horensa roared. The wind howled in response, the force of it flattening anyone still outside to the ground, to the walls, rendering them unable to move as thunder rumbled overhead and lightning danced through the clouds.

A single thought ran through the minds of every Hyuuga present. 'You first.'

* * *

Naruto groaned softly as he regained consciousness. Blearily, he realized that his face was pressed against a stone floor and that there was no one in the room with him. Therefore, he took the time to try and count the number of places of origin of his aches and pains. He lost count.

"Remind me again why I didn't just send a shadow clone to do this job?"

"_You did. It stopped for ramen, remember?"_

Naruto sighed. "Curse you Ichiraku, and your irresistible culinary arts."

Shinigami shrugged. _"Alright."_

"Nononononononononnononono!" Naruto said, frantically, "I was joking! Joking!"

Sitting up, he took a look around. Naruto had been incarcerated in a cell, a fairly large one at that, with a thick, oak door, which had a small window covered in with steel bars that had been embedded deep within the wood. He was unarmed, naturally, and strangely enough, one of the long arms of his top had been cut cleanly off, the left one. A spiral, swirl shaped sealed seemed to be tattooed onto his arm just below his shoulder.

"You're kidding me. They gave me a tattoo?"

Shinigami shook his head. _"Not a tattoo, kid, a seal, although I think something may have gone wrong with that seal."_

Quickly, he outlined what had happened while Naruto was unconscious.

_Flashback_

"Lord Hokage!" one of the ANBU called.

Hiruzen turned to his subordinate.

"Yes?"

The ANBU bowed to him on one knee. "The storm is too strong for us to make our way through safely. We will have to wait until it blows over."

Sarutobi's eyes rose in surprise. Nevertheless, he trusted his ANBU's judgment. "We can make our way to the bottom level of ANBU headquarters underground from here. As I recall, there is a nice cell there that I am sure Yurei will be very comfortable in."

The ANBU nodded, bowing his head to his leader.

"Lord Hiashi, are you almost finished?"

"Almost, Lord Hokage," the Hyuuga lord said quietly, as he put the finishing touches to the seal he was painting on Yurei's arm. After he finished painting the last, _tiny_ character of the seal, Hiashi pricked Yurei's other hand with a kunai and, holding the blade above the center of the seal, allowed a single drop of Yurei's blood to drip down into the seal network.

"There. FUIN!" Hiashi pushed himself backwards in surprise as the seal exploded with light, each of the _many _characters glowing a different shade of scarlet as they traveled up Yurei's hand, up his arm, making it seem as if his skin was on fire, before swirling around the top of his bicep and ending their movements in a bright flash of white light.

Hiashi blinked stupidly at the spiral, swirl like seal that was the result of his work. The ink had seemingly become a part of Yurei's skin. Not only that, but it had changed colour, with a red swirl in the center surrounded by gold flecks. Circumspectly, he tried the fuinjutsu's unsealing technique, paling when it did not work.

"Well, that's never happened before," he muttered under his breath.

_Flashback end_

"Alright…so, tell me Shinigami, what does the seal do?" Naruto asked.

"_No idea," _he stated cheerfully.

Naruto groaned and tried to access his chakra. He swallowed, feeling abruptly ill when he found out that such an act was impossible.

"Boys," Naruto proclaimed, "we're in deep shit."

"You don't know the half of it, Sweetie," came a voice purring with barely restrained malice.

The three occupants of Naruto's mindscape turned to face a severely pissed off Arlia, who had just stepped from her somehow menacing pink, flower and heart, adorned door. "Crap," they whimpered.

After an efficient tongue lashing and a promised beating that would be dished out when there were no impressionable young ones around, a fact that Naruto was eternally grateful for, where Arlia berated them for being stupid enough to get caught and for not inviting her to come along with them, Arlia told them about the situation with Hinata.

"So, let me get this straight," Naruto said slowly. "I need to break out of a maximum security prison within the next four and a bit hours?"

"Yes."

"Getting past the entirety of Konoha's ANBU, in their home turf as I do so…"

"Affirmative."

"Not to mention Old Man Hokage…"

"Naturally."

"And then escape through a storm that is currently being powered by Susanoo himself?"

"I'm so glad you understand, Naruto-kun," Arlia said with a smile, flashing him a dimple as she did so. Most other times, this would be all that was needed, except Naruto currently had his eyes closed and was massaging his temples, trying to will away the headache that he felt coming on.

"And if I don't, then Hinata is likely to get the Cage Bird Seal," he asked, wearily.

"_In which case you're going to have to do something to the Hyuuga clan,"_ Shinigami said, logically._ "After all, you left them with some rather impressive threats."_

Naruto nodded, grimacing. "Thing is, I'm not sure that I'll actually be able to go through with them. I don't know if I can really be that…"

"**COLD."**

"Yeah…"

"**THEN STOP MOANING KIT, AND GET US OUT OF HERE ALREADY."**

"_All you got to do then is make a dash for freedom," _Shinigami said cheerfully.

Naruto's head shot up as an idea came to him, with all the abruptness of a bolt of lighting out of the blue. Quickly, he looked around: flat, stone floor, no dust to speak of, a bed that was made of metal, bolted to the wall, but with one sharp edge, he could hear the pacing footsteps of a guard outside, judging from the heavy footsteps, it was a male and, most importantly of all, the front door opened outwards. Removing the Namikaze emblem from the unharmed right sleeve of his jacket, he twirled it between his fingers.

"I got an idea," he said with a grin. "An idea that is so crazy, it just might work."

* * *

The single ANBU placed on guard outside Yurei's cell sighed in discontent. What had he done to deserve this? It was a completely unnecessary job. The man may be dangerous and a jinchuriki to boot, but he was in a cell that was known for being completely inescapable. Not even one of the Sannin could get out of this prison. Needless to say, the relatively new recruit to the ANBU found this to be quite…boring. It was with surprise then that he felt the faint stirrings of killing intent coming from the prisoner. He shrugged it off. Killing intent was not something that needed chakra for it to be produced anyway. But the level of Killing Intent grew, and grew, until it was impossible to merely shrug off. The ANBU had started to shiver slightly and moved to the doorway and opened the flap in the window to check on the prisoner. He was shocked to see Yurei sitting in a meditative position in the center of what looked like a summoning circle, but one that was more complicated than any he had ever seen. It had been made entirely of blood and the ANBU could see the bloodstained corner of the metal bed, where Yurei must have cut himself in order to paint the seals.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Summoning the Kyuubi," Yurei answered, calmly, eyes closed.

"You can't do that!" the ANBU shouted.

"Watch me," Yurei retorted, never moving.

His Killing Intent suddenly sky rocketed, reaching levels that his guard had never before experienced in all his years, save once, when he faced Kyuubi. Was it his imagination, or was chakra, red chakra, beginning to swirl around his seated form? His mind clouded by fear, nevertheless, the ANBU knew his duty and did not run for help, certain that the demon would be released before he got anyone else to help him. Acting swiftly, the ANBU wrenched open the door and got socked full force right in the nuts. Naruto winced at the crunching sound of impact. His clone had been kneeling on the ground in front of the door, hidden from view. When the ANBU had pulled open the door, the clone had surged upwards, placing all the force of his shoulder, legs and weight in one devastating punch that had hit right on target. The ANBU crumpled without a sound, mercifully unconscious. Feeling sorry for him, Naruto dragged him into the cell and placed him on the bed, before exiting, being very careful to lock the door behind him.

"I can't believe that actually worked," he marveled.

"Course it worked!" his clone exclaimed. "It was our idea!"

Naruto inclined his head, acknowledging the point, before he attempted to focus chakra to his hand, breathing a sigh of relief as a rasengan came into being. Outside the cell, he was able to access his chakra, although there seemed to be a lot less of it than usual, less than a quarter all told. Blowing up that machine took a hell of a lot out of him, not to mention whatever Hiashi's seal had done to him.

"_No Shadow Clone spamming for you then."_

Naruto nodded slowly. "Then I won't dispel this one." His clone smirked as it jumped at him and henged back into the Namikaze emblem, which Naruto snagged from the air and carefully pinned back to his sleeve.

"Now…which way is out?"

"_There's only one pathway available to you at the moment," _Shinigami commented dryly. _"I suggest you take that."_

Naruto made it about forty meters before he was tackled to the ground by a patrolling ANBU. Before Naruto could get to his feet, the ANBU had pinned him to the ground with his wrist high up on his back. The chakra enhanced grip felt like steel bars wrapped around his wrist, grinding the delicate bones together and he could feel where a raised surface of the floor dug painfully into his ribs.

"Be advised! Subject Yurei is on the loose! Bottom floor, sector-"

"Kage Bunnshin no Jutsu!" Naruto yelled.

The ANBU immediately lifted his head, searching for the new, nonexistent, threat. As he did, the distracted Shinobi eased up on the pressure on Naruto's wrist. Not much, but just enough so that Naruto had room to move. Big mistake. Although bolstering your limbs with chakra could grant you much higher strength, unless you had almost insanely high chakra control, it would take you more than an instant to stick yourself to surfaces with chakra. Which meant that, right now, the ANBU was vulnerable. Getting a knee underneath his body, Naruto slithered out of his attacker's loosened grip, driving his newly freed elbow into the ANBU's solar plexus as he did so. Naruto seized the front of the ANBU's shirt at the throat, twisted with the whole weight of his henged body and used both his arms and legs to throw the ANBU off him and at the wall.

Not to be outdone, the ANBU hit the ground with a roll, coming up facing Naruto, but Naruto had followed after the ANBU he had thrown, and as the ferret masked ANBU lifted his head, Naruto's kick was already more than halfway to the man's head. Naruto's sandaled foot struck the ANBU in the mouth, cracking the mask; a stunning blow and the ANBU reeled back. Immediately upon gaining his feet, Naruto dove forward, sending his shoulder into the man's stomach. But he wasn't an ANBU for nothing, as the double fisted blow into Naruto's back and the right knee into his chest could attest to. But with one knee off the ground, he had nothing to steady himself with when Naruto, whose right shoulder was still in the man's stomach, hammered his left fist into the back of the Ferret's left knee. The leg crumpled, causing the ANBU to fall onto Naruto's back. Surprised, Naruto straightened up suddenly, sending the ANBU headfirst into the hard rock floor. Knowing that the ANBU would have used his arms to cushion the blow, Naruto sent a mule kick behind him, straight into the ANBU's already abused belly. When the ANBU fell onto his back with the blow, Naruto gave him a boot to the head, knocking him stone cold out.

"_Was the last one really necessary?"_

"**IT WAS GOOD," **Kyuubi mused. **"OVERKILL IS UNDERRATED IN MY OPINION."**

Naruto rolled his eyes, somehow not very surprised at Kyuubi's comment as he finished divesting the ANBU of his kunai and shuriken. He had no time to tie him up. Stretching, Naruto cracked his back, blessing the sturdiness of his layered henge as he did so. So far, the only thing that he had found that could break a five layered henge was a rasengan and if he got hit by _that_, he had much bigger problems to worry about. At first, it had been difficult to keep that number of layers up, but he had solved that problem with a relatively simple seal. It was some kind of recycling seal that just kept the chakra moving in a circle, minimizing the amount lost in the process. Naruto did not understand all the mechanics of it, but he did know that the thing was useful. He carried on running.

Perhaps thirty seconds later, Naruto rounded a corner and almost ran smack into a Special Jonin. He never thought, just acted instinctively. The Jonin grabbed Naruto by the front of his shirt and tried to send a kunai into his leg, if he succeeded, then Naruto would have already lost. Moving quickly, Naruto rocked back and slapped him. He kept his four fingers together, formed a cup and his wrist loose. Although he still felt a line of fire burn across his leg from the kunai, the slap to the Jonin's ear formed a loud echo that disoriented him for a crucial half a second. By then, it was over. Naruto followed the slap with a hard elbow strike to the head, sending the Jonin's head to the side. Shadowing the elbow strike was a head butt; luckily the hitai-ate was on the man's arm. Moving in for the finish, Naruto sent a knee into the man's groin, another into his nose when he crouched over in pain. There was a burst of blood as the man's nose broke and his head came up, allowing Naruto to thrust his low powered rasengan into his body, sending him flying into the wall, where his head whipped back, crunching against the rock and rendering him unconscious, even before he slid down the wall and knocked the back of his head against the floor. Naruto looked down at his leg, shaking his head in wonder as the skin closed right in front of him. He still wasn't completely used to his new healing factor. Moving forward, Naruto rolled the limp man over off his back and onto his side.

"What are you doing, Sweetie?" Arlia asked, curiously.

"Making sure he stays alive," Naruto answered.

Arlia did not understand, so Shinigami answered her for Naruto.

"_The man's nose is broken. On his back, unconscious, there is a chance that he'll end up drowning in his own blood. Not a very pleasant way to go."_

Naruto's enhanced hearing caught the sounds of running feet. Apparently, he had attracted attention with his little fight. He counted three, no, four people. Naruto paled. He did not like the sound of four to one odds. Cursing slightly to himself, Naruto opened a door and ran soundlessly into a room, shaking out what appeared to be a sheet as he did so.

Hiashi Hyuuga was in the lead of three ANBU when they came across the downed Special Jonin. Activating his Byakugan, he informed the ANBU with him that the Jonin was alive, unconscious, but alive.

"I'll take care of him," Hiashi said. "You continue to search for Yurei."

"Hai," the ANBU confirmed, like good little soldiers and spread out to find him, opening doors as they did so and scanning each room. Once they had rounded the corner, Hiashi got up off his knees from where he had been ministering to the man on the ground and calmly walked into the room that Naruto was currently residing in.

"I know you are in here, Yurei," he said as he turned and locked the door, Byakugan still activated as he shook his head from side to side, mitigating his blind spot. "I can see you," he spoke ominously.

"Then why did you send the ANBU away?" Naruto asked, revealing himself and stuffing his camouflage cover sheet back into his pocket.

Hiashi tilted his head as he regarded him. "You brought me and my daughter back together, Namikaze. Your methods were…unorthodox, yet they worked. I always my debts, Namikaze, and I owe you a great deal; you and Uzumaki-san, or, Namikaze-san both. You being incarcerated leaves me in a very bad position for repaying either of those debts."

"So, what? You're just going to let me go?" Naruto asked, confused.

Hiashi smirked, slightly. "Not…quite. I also owe you for the manner of how you brought us together. Good intentions, or otherwise, aside, you made me believe that _my_ clan was dead. And in here, you can't use any ninjutsu for fear of bringing the ANBU down on your head." Hiashi purposefully cracked his knuckles in both hands, before rolling his head in a manner that probably would have been more impressive if his hair were longer. "I'm going to enjoy this."

Four minutes and forty two seconds later, Naruto counted, Hiashi left the room with a sigh of satisfaction most uncharacteristic to the Hyuuga head. "Now, Namikaze, we are even."

"Horensa plans on sealing Hinata with the Cage Bird Seal. He even managed to blackmail your sealer Takashi into doing it by threatening his youngest daughter." For some reason, Yurei's voice sounded…mangled.

Hiashi froze; clenching his fists so hard together that new blood began to flow from the open skin on his damaged knuckles. The Gentle Fist was what he specialized in, but there is always something unexplainably satisfying about hitting someone you've got a beef with across the face with your closed fist. Hiashi snorted, musing that it was strange how your attention wondered when in the midst of an icy rage. Turning once more, he inclined his head to the occupant of the room. "It appears that I am in your debt once more, Namikaze-sama," not questioning how Yurei could know something like this even when locked up.

"I will take care of it, however, I would ask one more favor of you," Hiashi said. Seeing Yurei's arm twitch in the affirmative, Hiashi continued. "Naruto has been spending a lot of time with my daughter. In fact, she talks about him often. Please pass on the message that if he ever does _anything _inappropriate, or if he _ever_ hurts her, I will make the light spar that you and I have just had seem like a love tap when I get my hands on him."

Hiashi turned around and paused. "One more thing." His fathers tri-pronged kunai hit the ground about two inches from Naruto's face, with enough force behind the throw to embed the first eighth of the blade within the stone floor. "This is yours, I believe."

Naruto gulped, still in a crumpled mess on the floor, feeling almost unable to move seeing as Hiashi had just given him the _worst_ beat down he had _ever _had bar _none._ Well, bar one, he hadn't had a chidori shoved into his chest this time, but apart from that, _bar none! _ After Hiashi had departed, his last threat, more like a statement of fact, really, repeated in Naruto's head over and over again.

"Shinigami? Fuzzbucket?"

"_**YEAH?"**_the two immortals replied, Kyuubi reluctantly.

"Remember when you said that one day I'd understand why a father-in-law is higher up in the food chain?"

"_**YEAH?"**_

"I think I understand now."

Arlia was the only one who laughed.

"That reminds me, Sweetie. I was just going through the memories of your interrogation, when I came across something interesting, O 'man who has held the body of the woman he loves in his arms.' Care to tell me what you meant by that?"

Naruto blushed, wishing that his legs had enough feeling in them so that he could go back into ANBU infested territory and thereby avoid Arlia's teasing.

* * *

It was not long before Naruto was back in the corridor, searching for an exit, kunai at the ready. He had made one more stop before carrying on. The Special Jonin had had a small sealing kit on his person. Naruto had taken the time to make one, very specific sealing array involving kunai and wires. But it would not help him in this situation. Coming to a T-junction, with a choice of turning right or going straight ahead, Naruto carefully used his father's kunai as a mirror to look around the corner. It was not good. Two chuunin and an ANBU were guarding the turn off to the right. While that meant that he was going the right way, he had no idea how he was going to get past these three. Getting an idea, Naruto closed his eyes and drew on the air around him, trying to become one with the wind. Well, he tried to, with no success whatsoever.

Shinigami answered his unasked question.

"_You draw on the wind Naruto. I told you, this is an internalized ninjutsu. In fact, the technique is the closest thing to turning yourself into an elemental possible. Right now, you're underground, surrounded by earth. There is __**no**__wind for you to feel and as such, you can't use the technique."_

Naruto cursed fluently and banged his head softly against the wall, turning his eyes towards the ceiling. In doing so, he was forced to blink his eyes due to the bright lamp almost directly above him. A slow grin spread across his face.

"That might work," he said softly.

Working quickly, Naruto performed the three necessary hand signs.

"Fuuton: Kazetama Seisha." Feeling the chakra come to his hands, Naruto breathed in and out, in and out and twirled around to face the shinobi at the end of the corridor, positively pumping chakra into his hands. There was a shout of recognition from the ANBU, before he was hit in the face by a solid, yet blunt ball of air, which was elling at just over 90 miles per hour. The Kazetama Seisha, or wind ball volley was a relatively simple jutsu, if chakra draining. It wasn't deadly; instead it just formed balls of wind the size of a baseball and fired them off from the palms of the users hands. But it had two things in its favor, speed and _numbers._ Since no time was spent in sharpening the wind, Naruto could just keep shooting them in a volley, making it highly reminiscent to automatic fire. Right now, he was firing off two kazetama every second from his right hand and three every two seconds with his left. Naruto kept the pressure on the three ninja down the corridor, hosing them down until the ANBU spat out a mouthful of mud, creating an earth wall for them to shelter behind. Working together, the two Chuunin created a massive fire jutsu that blew through the wall and swept down the corridor scorching any of its occupants. Yet there was no one there. Yurei spun around the corner, palms outstretched almost casually. Yet his jutsu hit the lamps that had illuminated the corridor with pinpoint accuracy, pitching them into darkness.

They were hit several times more by several more kazetama before the ANBU cracked a flare and sent it down the corridor, enabling them to see the retreating form of Yurei down the corridor. Immediately, they began the chase, using flares to light their way when they found that Yurei had continued to destroy the light fittings on his way down.

Naruto's initial instinct was to breathe a sigh of relief; instead, he chuckled lightly as he undid the henge that had disguised him as a part of the rubble from the wall, the Namikaze clan emblem missing from his shoulder. Undoing the henge that had been over his mouth, Naruto spat a globule of blood to the side. One of the rocks had ricocheted round the corner and struck him in the mouth. Fortunately, it would heal soon.

"So long, Suckers!" Naruto called out in their direction devilishly. He turned to continue on his way, only to receive a shattering punch to the jaw that not only drove him to the ground, but also sent him skidding along the ground for a good while as well.

Naruto groaned slightly, turned his head so that he could see who had hit him. He looked up, and up, and up, to behold the bearded face of Asuma Sarutobi.

"Help me, Suckers!" Naruto whimpered as, without a word, Asuma got into a ready stance, his knives already out.

"You wouldn't be able to direct me to the bathroom would you?" Naruto called out, still on the ground. Asuma just chuckled.

"Thought not."

Acting quickly, Naruto flipped himself to his feet, pulling out four kunai, as he did so, prompting Asuma to take a short jump back to give himself some breathing room if his opponent threw them. The big man quirked an eyebrow, however, when Naruto threw a kunai into each corner of the rectangular corridor two on the floor and two on the ceiling. The kunai dug deep into the stone and each pair of kunai was attached to a single wire, causing the two pairs to form an x shape in the middle of the corridor. Naruto grabbed both wires where they intercepted and muttered "Fuin." Immediately, a transparent blue veil of chakra sealed the corridor, originating from each of the prepared kunai in a wave.

Asuma nodded slightly. "You first take out the lights to give you cover. The Shadow Clone leads the enemy away, using the same jutsu as you to further confuse them. Once you've got them out of the way, you release your genjutsu, get past their position and then seal it off to prevent reinforcements coming, while simultaneously guarding your back. Excellent use of tactic."

'To be honest, the only thought I had was that I can see in the dark and they can't,' Naruto confided to Shinigami and company.

"But the sealing technique shows that, whoever you are, you're not just a rookie, and you streamed wind chakra into those kunai to get them so deep into the stone, so…"

Asuma's knives took on a distinctive blue tinge as he began channeling his own element into them.

Naruto gulped as he drew his father's kunai, which caused Asuma to hesitate a bit, and channeled his own wind element to the metal, making it almost as long as his mother's sword.

"Shit," he thought, before diving into the fray, meeting Asuma half way.

Asuma immediately started dominating the fight, causing rips and cuts in Naruto's clothes that immediately welled up with blood. Within moments after a second clash, he had cut Naruto's leg badly enough that he was unable to move around and dodge as effectively as he had been. Desperately, Naruto sent a double handed, overhead blow at Asuma, who caught it between his crossed blades. The two wind chakra blades ground against each other, creating a high-pitched whine that grated on the ears.

Asuma looked disappointed. "I expected more," he said shaking his head slightly, looking at Naruto between their blades.

Naruto spat in his face. Asuma flinched at the unexpected move as the spittle hit him in the eye. In that moment of indecision, Naruto flicked his left hand down, performing a Kazeken that cut deep into Asuma's right arm, just below the shoulder and drove his knee into his thigh, supporting all his weight on his supposedly injured leg. Asuma gasped as he felt a spike drive into his leg that had seemingly come from his opponent's greave.

Withdrawing his henged knee blade, Naruto back flipped away from Asuma, revealing that he had somehow healed from his earlier wounds, although he still favored his leg a little.

"Don't underestimate me. True, when it comes down to it, most of my taijutsu will never hold against a master and my blade work is pathetic. What do you expect? I'm an overkill specialist. Either I take 'em out hard and fast, or I use an over the top jutsu to finish 'em. Problem is, that most of my jutsu are lethal and I don't want to kill any Konoha ninja. The rest of them are either useless in such an enclosed space, or highly chakra draining. Breaking out of that prison took a lot out of me. So sue me."

Asuma nodded, wondering if he should get Kurenai to come out of hiding and put a genjutsu on him. But that would be tantamount to admitting defeat.

"Fortunately for me, not all of my jutsu are unusable and judging by how quickly you've been recovering, you can take this." So saying, he formed four hand signs, albeit a little bit slower than usual and shouted the name of his jutsu.

"Katon: Haisekisho."

Asuma winced at the scream of pain given by the man within the cloud of burning ash. He had not been fighting his best against him, trying to go for capture was much harder than going for the kill and so he did not ignite the pile of ash. Which was why he only saw the kunai, infused with wind chakra and propelled by a kazetama, shoot through the ash cloud at the very last second. Desperately, he tried to get out of the way, but his leg would not support him. Although no artery had been cut, the stab had been right in a thick cord of muscle. Asuma stumbled and the kunai cut into his flesh, some of it's sharpness reduced by Asuma's own hastily constructed wind blades. But it had pierced his stomach and clipped an artery. The big man was bleeding profusely and would probably bleed out in about seven minutes.

Limping, Naruto came out of the smoke, wondering why Asuma had not attacked again. That was when he came out of the ash cloud and saw his crumpled form on the ground.

"Shit!" he swore and ran to the man who would become the sensei of the next Ino-Shika-Cho team, immediately putting pressure on the wound. As he did so, the entire world around him began to change.

"Kurenai-san," Naruto said, struggling to keep to the task at hand. "I advise you to release that genjutsu and help me with Asuma's wounds before he bleeds to death."

Kurenai walked forward, her jutsu inactive. Although wary of this man, she could not keep herself from rushing to Asuma's side.

"Keep pressure on the wound!" Yurei barked. When Kurenai did so, Yurei released his own hands and cut into his blackened jacket, pulling out a small bottle of red pills.

"What are you doing?" Kurenai asked sharply.

"Keeping him alive." The Namikaze took three pills in hand and forced them into Asuma's mouth, massaging his throat, making sure he swallowed. "Here, use this," he said, passing a towel over to Kurenai. The kunoichi blinked at the fluffy object, not having seen him henge it into existence, but grabbed it and used it to place pressure on Asuma's stomach.

"You won't get away with this you know," Kurenai said suddenly. "I will take you out."

Yurei snorted. "Is it just me or are you admitting that you have feelings for Sarutobi here? Remember, we're ninja and our loved ones can be torn away from us at any moment. As for me not getting away…" Yurei reached forward and jerked the kunai out of Asuma's stomach in a single, harsh motion, unplugging the hole made by the knife and allowing blood to flow more freely. "Try and stop me and your boyfriend bleeds to death." So saying, he turned and ran.

Kurenai's cry of "baaasssstarrrdd," cut into Naruto, but the kunai had had to come out. He had waited until he could see Asuma's healing increase to a level approaching his own, due to the pills made of his own blood that he had given to him, before taking out the knife. If he had not, then Asuma would not have been able to completely heal, Uzumaki blood or no. Naruto supposed it might have been _possible_ for the newly healing flesh to push out the blade, but he had not been prepared to risk it. Asuma would live, of that there was no doubt.

This thought comforted him as he turned the final corner and stopped, seeing four ANBU and the Hokage himself in front of him.

"That's not fair."

"_Kid, there's an empty space above you!"_

"End of the line, Yurei. Give yourself up," Hiruzen said gently, but underneath that gentleness was an iron command.

Yurei looked at the ground, saying nothing, with his hands at clenched into fist on either side of his body. His hands suddenly opened and in each palm there was a swirling gem of pure white chakra that was bright enough in the dark tunnel to blind the shinobi in front of them. As one, he threw both of them in front of him, creating a veritable wall of deadly wind.

Naruto wasted no time, performing three Kazeken and a kazebo to cut a triangle into the ceiling above him and to blow the stone out of the hole, jumping through the hole, scraping himself as he did so. He came into an empty room. No windows, heavy door.

"_Up, kid, up! Ceiling's too thick to cut your way through, gonna have to be something bigger."_

Naruto nodded and formed a kage bunshin, placing their hands together an odama rasengan was brought into existence. Naruto had used half of his remaining chakra on this one. His clone did as many kazeken as it could with its own chakra, weakening the ceiling, but a kunai came through the hole and hit it dead center, dispelling it when it had just under half of its chakra remaining.

"Time to go!" Holding the souped-up rasengan above his head, Naruto jumped. The ceiling may as well have been cobwebs. Three floors up, Naruto plowed through the roof and faced the full fury and might of the storm. Close to chakra exhaustion, he lay on the roof of the Hokage tower, with the entire building and its occupants below him in disarray. Nearing chakra exhaustion, Naruto lay on his back, the storm around him, panting for breath that would not come. Struggling, he turned onto his side and forced himself to his feet, feeling the wind all around him. But the storm had calmed, at least somewhat and many shinobi were outside now, readying themselves to face him.

"I thought you said the storm would be too powerful for people to go outside!"

Arlia cursed. "It appears that Susanoo recognizes you…he wants to see how you handle yourself."

"Now?" Naruto yelled.

"Yes. Now."

Naruto repressed his initial urge to blaspheme, closed his eyes, and _felt._ He could feel the currents of air all around him, the rain lashing against his face and sensed the exact points in the atmosphere around him where the smallest touch would have the largest effect.

As the shinobi below him tried to get to the top, Naruto sent his chakra to four specific points in the air in the form of a kazetama that exploded just when he said. Immediately, the air formed a wall around him, swirling at the speed of a tornado, with him in the eye of it. For the moment, Naruto thought he had gained a respite, until the ANBU came through the roof and surrounded him.

Their captain looked around, taking in the situation and then at the exhausted Yurei.

"Use of lethal force…authorized."

In a panic, Naruto drew on the wind and drew deep, as if he thirsted after it. He could hear, almost as if it were in the background, the Shinigami shouting at him that it was too much, to stop, even as the ANBU began their hand signs for the jutsu that would end his life, but it did not matter. Compared to the last time he drew on the wind, this was so, very…easy. And, to him, the world changed. Everything slowed down to a snails pace, while he himself moved at seemingly normal speeds, borrowing the swiftness of the wind itself. He could feel everything that was around him, why should he not? After all, he had become part of the wind.

Jutsu came at him from every ANBU, yet he was ready. Naruto molded the air itself to his will and held in his hand a staff, made of pure, solid wind. The first jutsu sent a bolt of lightning rushing towards him. Naruto blocked it with the staff in his hand, somehow absorbing it, containing the lightning within his staff. Three ANBU completed their jutsu, a boulder of earth shot forward at him, while the others both used a Suiton: Suiryudan. Ignoring the water dragons, Naruto slammed his staff on the floor, using it to lever himself into a vertical kick that sent a wind blade cutting through the boulder. With a small cry of exertion, Naruto threw his staff into the thin line provided by his kazeken like a javelin. The wind and lightning enhanced staff bored effortlessly through the rock until it was in its center, where it detonated in an explosion of wind chakra, pushing the two halves of the boulder away fro each other. Naruto stood tall, his arms crossed at his chest, his palms facing opposite directions. He felt no fear as the two halves of the boulder went by on his left and right side and when he could _feel_ that the time was right, he used a single kazetama from each hand. Bolstered by the storm, one was all that was needed to send each half of the boulder rocketing away from him. The earth smashed through the water dragons and yet still had enough force to hit the ANBU who had cast the jutsu, sending them flying towards the wall of the tornado. Naruto gestured, casually and each of the ANBU flew through a sudden opening in the wall of wind, but the boulder that followed was cut so finely that it resembled dust.

Unfortunately, his action of mercy left him open to the next jutsu, a Kaze no Yaiba. It tickled his skin in a loving caress, after all, why would the wind hurt itself?

"Katon: Karyudan!"

Naruto could see the dragon of fire coming for him, could make out every detail of it. He smirked. "Wind Style: Void."

Fire needs three things to burn: heat, fuel and oxygen. Take out one of those three and the fire goes out. This particular jutsu created a space where there was no wind in an area, no oxygen. But, one with the wind itself, Naruto could do so much more than just that. Instead of moving the air in a haphazard way, he condensed it all in a small column that curved around his body. When the fire hit the shield of the void, it followed that column, shooting out at the lightning user and sending him flying out through the wall of wind. Naruto released the jutsu and felt the wind rushing in to fill that void. He used that wind, spinning it around him and sending it at the wind user, followed by a kazetama. The two forces of wind succeeded in exiting him from the fight.

The earth user slammed his hands onto the ground and Naruto could_ see_ the sharp tips of stone that rose slowly, oh so slowly from the ground. Feeling almost apathetic, he jumped up, the wind catching at him, another staff in his hand. Straining with his much dwindled chakra reserves, Naruto pulled the wind close to his staff, making it swirl around. Swirling and condensing, swirling and condensing until even he began to feel some pain holding on to it. Raising it above his head, he drove it into the ground with a shout as he came back to earth. The wind _exploded_ outwards, destroying the stone spikes in a wave. The ANBU had no chance to dodge the wave of wind and were thrown from the tower roof like flies in the wind as the wind tore through the tornado-like wall, dispelling it in the process.

Naruto knelt on the ground on a single knee, not daring to let go of the wind, as it was the only thing keeping him up right now. He caught his breath when he felt a tremor in the ground beneath him and lifted his head to see the Third Hokage rise seamlessly from the stone floor.

"Oh, come on," he muttered.

Hiruzen just looked around, taking in the destruction all around him. He shook his head. "Why did you come to me?"

Naruto blinked. "Excuse me?"

The Hokage shrugged. "You obviously don't want to be tied down, we never knew a thing about you and yet you showed yourself to me alone. What was your reason?"

Naruto chewed on his bottom lip. "Promise me that you will give the sword to Naruto," he said suddenly. The old man's eyebrows knit together.

"It was his mother's," he said softly, realization dawning on him. "Granted. On the day of his graduation."

"I found information regarding Orochimaru, the new leader of Sound. He plans to invade Konoha."

The Hokage drew a sharp intake of breath. "When?"

"When the playful war comes to the Leaf, the Snake will strike, in the final hour."

Hiruzen inclined his head. "Thank you." He looked up to see Yurei walking away. Hiruzen sighed, grudgingly admiring his persistence. "I can't let you just disappear," he said, bringing his hands up to cast a jutsu.

Yurei turned and smirked at him, his back at the edge of the roof. "I'm a ghost, remember, what does not exist, cannot disappear." Spreading his arms wide, he let himself fall off the roof. Hiruzen rushed to the edge and looked down, to see…nothing. It was if he had simply evaporated, like he had ceased to exist, the storm covering any trace of him.

An ANBU arrived next to Hiruzen. "Shall I send out the search parties, Lord Hokage?"

Sarutobi shook his head slowly. "Don't bother. He means us no real harm and we would not find him anyway. Get me Iruka and the upcoming Jonin sensei. You'll find Kakashi in a hospital ward with Gai and Wolf. Tell Iruka that he is to prepare a graduation exam for next week. If what Yurei says is true, then the fresh Genin will need all the training they can get."

The ones who would become the rookie 9 slept comfortably in their beds, all save two. One slept in the bed of the one she had loved for many years, while the other struggled to get to safety. All were unaware that their world that had been set out for them had been irreversibly changed, by naught but a few words. "But will it be for the better, or for the worse?" Arlia mused.

Outside, the storm raged on.

* * *

Author's Note: Alright, small cliffhanger, at least compared to the last one, even so, come on, no that chapter was almost 18,000 words! Are yo really going to tell me that it was too short? Now, this means that, yes, the Rookies are going to be trained by their sensei earlier, which means, we are going to be reaching canon sooner. Hope you liked this...slight, unveiling of what being one with the wind can do for him and before anyone asks, yes, there are consequences. So, you guys no the drill, read and review, but most of all, enjoy!

TwiceMarked out.


	17. Words and Traps

Author's Note. Hi everybody! Now, I know this is pretty late but you'll be glad to know that I'm not dead. If you did not catch the message from my other fic A Different Jungle, University has started for me again, which means little to no time to actually have a life. Yay! I actually started writing this a couple of months ago, so it has been _really_ slow going. That does mean that I did not get as much done in this chapter as I might have liked, but them's the breaks. So, I'm pretty sure you don't want to be reading a lousy Author's Note, so I'll let you get right on to the good stuff. Just a shout out to hinatasgreatestfan, who worked real hard on making this chapter even better for you guys to enjoy.

Disclaimer: Disclaimed

* * *

Chapter 16

Words and Traps

Sarutobi shook his head as he surveyed those who had come into contact with Yurei. They had all been summoned to a single room to facilitate their care. The Hokage had been hoping that he would also be able to get a debriefing, but the more he looked around the room, the more he realized this was unlikely; almost no one in the room was simultaneously in the know and physically capable of giving what he sought. One ANBU, whose high falsetto tone made it extremely difficult to understand what he was saying, was dividing his time between trying to speak normally and trying to walk without a limp. The next to come to Hiruzen's attention had a massive concussion, and the medics were still attempting to heal it. Lucky contestant number three had a burst eardrum, was slightly concussed, occasionally had to stem flows of blood from his broken nose, and all in all was a mass of bruises; he was apparently also delirious since he swore his condition had been caused by being hit with the signature jutsu of the Fourth Hokage. Much to the Jonin's mortification, he reported that all his injuries had been accumulated in under three seconds, which Hiruzen had to discount as impossible; only the Yellow Flash could move _that_ fast. He was quite embarrassed about it, actually. Chuckling quietly to himself, Hiruzen looked down the line and spotted Asuma. In that instant, seeing his son lying on a pallet on the ground, his clothes soaked in the dark, almost black red blood that was the sign of an arterial wound, Hiruzen was no longer a kage, feared throughout the elemental nations. Instead, he was a father, sick with worry for his son.

"Asuma! Are you alright?" he demanded, worriedly.

Asuma rolled his eyes at his father's over-protectiveness and kick-flipped to his feet. "I'm fine, Dad. See?" He spread his hands wide to indicate that he was, indeed, both fit and well, only to have one of his big olive skinned hands grasped by a smaller, slimmer, and paler-skinned one.

"Sit down." It was only then that Hiruzen noticed Kurenai, who had been sitting next to his son with her knees pressed against her chest.

"But-"

"Sit!" she commanded, her eyes flashing. A soft thump was heard as Asuma abruptly set his large frame down to rest.

"You were heavily injured," Kurenai said, scolding him. "You will stay _put_ until you've been examined by a medic!"

Asuma sighed in a long-suffering manner and lit a cigarette, only to have it abruptly taken from his fingers and ground under foot.

"Wait-whatthe-?" Asuma glared at Kurenai, who just smiled charmingly at him. Asuma rolled his eyes and lay back down. "Fine. _You_ do the report."

"What happened?" Hiruzen asked. "I take it that you faced Yurei?"

Kurenai nodded. "We came across a situation where an unknown was facing an ANBU and a pair of Chuunin; the assailant was using some form of wind jutsu, which immediately caught Asuma's interest. It's not often that he comes across someone who shares his elemental affinity. We caught the tail end of the fight. Yurei blinded his opponents and used that time to strike a few light blows. When the ANBU used a flare, they found that their opponent had seemingly fled the scene, prompting them to follow. As it turned out, he had sent them on a goose chase and was about to run off." Kurenai broke off as a female medic arrived and gestured for her to check over Asuma. She soon started to slightly grind her teeth, though, certain that the other woman did not need to run her hands over Asuma's chest quite _that_ often.

Asuma nodded, agreeing with what his love interest had said thus far. "I was impressed with his tactics and his Wind Style, so I faced him while Kurenai stayed in a back-up position. She would step in if needed."

Sarutobi looked his son up and down. "I take it that help was needed?" he asked dryly.

Kurenai shook her head, clearing her head of thoughts of vengeance via repeated use of genjutsu. "At first, no. Asuma proved to be more than a match for him in close combat." Hiruzen raised his eyebrows, surprised.

"His kenjutsu sucked," Asuma elaborated. "And his taijutsu wasn't that good either, especially when faced with a wind chakra augmented weapon. He proved to be extremely proficient in fuinjutsu, however, by creating a rather impressive barrier with just a single tag and some kunai."

The third nodded. They had found that barrier. After some study, they found it to be completely impassable from the one side, while the other side needed nothing but a small amount of chakra to render the entire thing inert. Of course, they had not expected the thing to then go off with the force of a low-yield explosive tag. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured.

"He took down an ANBU and a Jonin with nothing but taijutsu," Hiruzen interjected mildly.

Asuma nodded, conceding the point. "Yeah, but neither of them are taijutsu specialists and I heard their report of the fight, they lost because of the same reason I did."

"Oh?"

"Yurei…he fights dirty. He gets the first blow in, and then builds up enough momentum in the fight with a series of crippling blows that leaves his opponent with little to no chance to retaliate. He's the type of guy that will do anything to get _any_ advantage in a fight. Hell, he spat in my face to get me to flinch. With that half a second he cut almost completely through the tendons on my shoulder and stabbed deeply into the muscle of my leg."

"I assume that was where you stepped in, Kurenai?" The red-eyed Jonin just shook her head. Asuma explained why.

"No, that's when I hit him with Fire Style: Burning Ash and got a wind-enhanced kunai to the gut in exchange. Strangely enough, that's also when I lost consciousness."

Kurenai shuddered slightly, not liking being so casually reminded of Asuma's brush with death and continued with their report. "Yurei immediately went to Asuma's side. I thought that he was about to finish him off and hit him with my tree binding illusion. The genjutsu took hold quickly, but not only did Yurei recognize it as such, he even called me out by name and asked me to stop or watch my…watch Asuma bleed out. That was when I realized that he was performing first aid."

Hiruzen nodded slowly. "What was the extent of my son's injuries?"

Kurenai winced and went on. "The ash had disrupted the wind streaming of the blade that struck him. Instead of going in and coming out the other side, the damage had spread. The kunai was in deep and had cut several blood vessels, one of which was a major artery. It had also perforated his stomach."

Hiruzen's pipe fell from his mouth hitting the floor with a 'clonk.' "I believe congratulations are in order, Kurenai," he said finally. "I had no idea that you were such an accomplished medic."

Kurenai shook her head. "It wasn't me. Yurei and I kept pressure on the wound and Yurei gave Asuma what I thought were plasma pills. He waited for a while and then…retrieved his kunai, leaving Asuma to bleed out."

Hiruzen's expression became reminiscent of the storm clouds outside. If he had known this beforehand, then he would have given the kill order instead of informing that ANBU captain to attempt capture with no lethality.

"Only, he didn't bleed out. Instead, I watched as his flesh knitted together and healed right before my eyes. It must have been those pills, Lord Hokage. I don't know how, but, somehow, they healed him."

"They did more than that," the medic interjected, raising her voice for the first time.

Sarutobi quirked an eyebrow at the medic, "Oh?"

She shook her head. "Forgive me, Hokage-sama, I'm not saying that I don't believe Kurenai-san, but I'm detecting no trace of any wounds that have been recently inflicted. But that's not all…I've treated Asuma-sama before..." the medic trailed off, deciding how to explain her findings. As her voice gave way to silence, Sarutobi detected an extremely well-veiled, yet rather potent, killing intent. Unaware of Kurenai's murderous thoughts, the medic continued her explanation. "The amount of scar tissue that Asuma has accumulated over the years has been decreased, even the damage done to his lungs from his smoking habit has been mitigated…"

She did not need to continue, the Third knew what those signs meant.

"Regeneration…" Hiruzen breathed out.

The ANBU captain who had given the order to kill Yurei slipped quietly out of the room while the Hokage was still distracted. He needed to tell Danzo-sama about this.

* * *

Naruto gritted his teeth as he forced himself to finish the trek to his apartment without abandoning his fox form. He dearly wished that Shinigami had thought to warn him of some of the greater hazards of taking in too much of the wind's essence _before_ he had actually done so.

Yet he could not deny that it had been absolutely amazing while he had done so. The whole world had slowed down for him as he borrowed from the wind's swiftness. He had never been more aware of anything, of _everything._ His mind had worked at a frantic pace, changing direction with all the unpredictability of a breeze, even as he moved at speeds that he had never before dreamed of attempting. Now, however, his muscles were seizing up, utterly revolting against him due to the stress and strain he had heaped on them.

Despite that, it was all strangely muted. Somehow, the pain seemed to be that of another person, making it almost bearable. He supposed that this was a result of him being transformed into a fox, seeing as he was not 'wearing' the same form as before. Perhaps that was why the pain was not affecting him as much? It may also be because he was still able to keep a tenuous grasp on the wind as he trotted home. Yes, he knew it was a stupid thing to do. Yes, he knew that it was probably doing him more damage. But he also knew, with unshakable certainty, that if he _didn't_ do it, he would never be able to make it through the storm and back home.

Kyuubi snorted. **"NOT QUITE, KIT. YEAH, YOU'RE NOT FEELING AS MUCH PAIN BECAUSE YOU ARE IN FOX FORM, BUT THAT IS ONLY **_**BECAUSE**_** YOU'RE TRANSFORMED INTO A **_**FOX**_**. WE VULPINES HAVE A VERY IMPRESSIVE PAIN TOLERANCE. THERE HAVE BEEN MANY CASES WHEN A FOX CAUGHT IN A TRAP WILL SPEND SEVERAL HOURS GNAWING OFF ITS OWN FOOT IN ORDER TO ESCAPE. THERE HAVE ALSO BEEN CASES OF FOXES PUSHING THEIR BODIES SO HARD WHEN BEING HUNTED THAT THEY HAVE DESTROYED THEIR OWN MUSCLES ALMOST TO THE POINT OF PARALYSIS IN ORDER TO SURVIVE."**

"Not that you've ever been hunted before," Naruto groused wearily at him. He had finally reached his apartment building but was far too weak to get to his habitual point of ingress, the window. Groaning, he dragged his body towards the stairs. Honestly, what would one such as the Kyuubi know of being the hunted?

Kyuubi decided this was not the time to mention he had once been the target of a certain lord's fox-hunt. The so-called "noble"man in question had thought it was fun to unleash a pack of hounds to track a fox while he and a group of his friends had chased after dog and quarry atop horses and blowing bugles, while wearing scarlet clothes, of all things...all in the name of sport! And this idiot thought that doing this somehow proved his "nobility"! Needless to say, those damn redcoats had been in for a different kind of fun when they actually caught up to Kyuubi. Also needless to say, they conducted no more fox-hunts.

Naruto rolled his eyes at Kyuubi's mad chuckling and focused on pulling himself up the stairs to his back door. Feeling and looking miserable with his wet and bedraggled fur clinging to his body, Naruto finally reached the door. Sitting up, he closed his eyes and mentally prepared himself for the pain that he was sure was to follow. Breathing out slowly, Naruto undid his henge. Tears welled up and ran down his face, mixing with the rain and his own sweat, as he became distinctly aware of exactly what his body was telling him. His face twisted into an involuntary snarl as he closed in on himself, hunching over, making himself seem smaller, more vulnerable. Moving jerkily, Naruto opened his door, blessing the sealing practice Shinigami had made him do as the seal on his entrance automatically unlocked the place, recognizing his unique chakra. He all but fell over his threshold, pulling the door shut behind him.

Big mistake.

Naruto cried out in agony as the wind left him, for the first time leaving him truly defenseless to the torment that now gleefully assaulted his senses. The sound of hurried footsteps came to his ears, barely audible against the roaring thunder, which thrummed almost ravenously through him. Naruto's eyes widened. Someone was in his house! In no condition to fight even the water that was dripping from his body and making a puddle at his feet, Naruto nevertheless dragged himself into a ready position that even he knew had to be laughable, what with his hunched shoulders and quaking legs. Physically, he was a mess, but at least he could be mentally ready for whatever was in his territory...right?

Hinata ran around the corner, and Naruto froze. He had not been ready for _this._ As Hinata came into view, her face showed fear from the unfamiliar sounds she had heard. Before Naruto's surprised eyes, her heat-reddened face began to shed its fear as she took in his bedraggle appearance; at the same time, her eyes filled with worry for him. He could _see_ how much she cared for him, and, in that moment, he knew that he would never forget the sight he was privileged to partake of that night. Her hair was wet and plastered to her head, yet it shone with a healthy radiance, one strand falling through the center of her forehead and coming to a slight curl at the end. Her ebony locks, kissed with a tinge of blue, seemed longer when wet, long enough to trail over the elegant arch of her neck and over one bare shoulder. Her skin was fair, flawless, unmarred by bruise or blade, and the small droplets of water that were beaded upon it served only to highlight its beauty. One pale arm was folded against her body, drawing his attention to the swell of her breasts and emphasizing her hourglass figure. Her legs were long, perfectly formed, and Naruto could tell that they would be oh-so-soft to the touch. Her step was light, like a dancer's, and every move she made seemed full of…life. Naruto blushed slightly as he finally realized that she was clad in a towel, no less...and no more.

As Naruto finally succumbed to his pain and collapsed to the ground, fighting to keep a smile off his face, he figured that, all in all, things could be a whole heck of a lot worse.

* * *

Hinata just blinked when Naruto collapsed onto the floor, down for the count. It was a measure of how much she had changed since Naruto had become a staple in her life that she had not immediately passed out upon him seeing her in such a state. If he had remained conscious for much longer, though, that would probably be a different story. Frowning, she activated her dojutsu so that she could see what was actually wrong with him. The Hyuuga heiress gasped at the state of her favorite blond. His entire chakra network was fluctuating, dwindling to almost nothing and then pushing out to an astounding intensity. The way Naruto's chakra moved inside of his coils was strange, reminiscent of…wind, maybe? But the more disturbing thing was what was happening to his muscles. In some cases, they were damaged beyond recognition and the muscle itself seemed to almost be evaporating around the edges.

Hinata immediately picked Naruto up and took him to his bed, wincing at the feeling of his chilled flesh as she did so; his skin felt especially cold due to the fact that she herself was warm. On Arlia's suggestion, Hinata had taken a shower once she had gotten out of the rain. She had, at first, been worried that she was intruding a bit too much in Naruto's home, but, having turned on those taps and begun luxuriating underneath the shower-head, she had ended up using almost all of the hot water. She had only turned the water off when she had heard the door open. She had gotten out of the shower and had, fortunately, already wrapped a towel around herself when she had heard Naruto scream, as any thought about her state of dress, or undress, had left her mind in her rush to see if he was all right. Said rush had ended in the discovery that he was, in fact, not.

Hurriedly, she dumped Naruto on his bed and seized the top of her towel, which had been threatening to drop to the floor. Pouting, Hinata made her way to Naruto's wardrobe, noting in passing that the storm finally seemed to be ending. Surely Naruto would not mind if she wore some of his clothes? She was unaware of the trouble that that simple question would bring upon Naruto's head.

* * *

Hiashi Hyuuga sneezed as he finally arrived at the main gates of his clan compound. The guards at the front did not even bother to check if it was really him: Hiashi was the only person they knew who could infuse such an intimidating look of cold rage into a Byakugan eye. The Hyuuga head froze when he came through the door and gazed upon the damage done to the clan grounds. They appeared to be the victim of lightning strikes…many lightning strikes. Hiashi ignored them as unimportant, for now.

"Summon the elders," he said. "I would have words with them." Oh, yes, he would have words with them. It was time to remind them just how harsh he could be, not only as a clan head but also as a severely pissed-off father.

Horensa needed to be carried into the council room. Even with everything that had been going on, he still decided to try to go after Hinata. Unsurprisingly, a bolt of lightning almost hit the man. It would normally have been enough to kill a man, yet, apparently, Horensa had been extremely lucky. A Hyuuga had been close enough to him to send a Jūken strike into his chest and restart his heart. Horensa, however, did not think himself very lucky. The man kept twitching and staring around with wild eyes, almost at the brink of snapping. To be fair, he had just gone through some rather…trying times. His heart had stopped for a short while, and he had been sent to the realm of Shinigami. He was fairly certain that what he had seen was nothing more than a particularly vivid nightmare. After all, would the Shinigami ever be the type of Being to say, most emphatically: "You, sir, are a dick!"?

'Yes,' he thought, trying to reassure himself. 'It must have been a dream.' And yet, it had all felt so very real…especially when the fake Shinigami had started cauterizing the many cuts he had made with a red-hot poker. The pseudo-Shinigami stopped before he was halfway through, though, then sighed and told him that it was time to go back. It was just as well, too, as Horensa had been a gibbering wreck at the prospect of his next punishment, which, in fact, was going to involve shoving said red-hot poker up his-

"Now that we are all finally here," Hiashi said, interrupting Horensa's train of thought, "we can get started."

"Why has this meeting been called?" Takashi asked, eager to get back to searching for his youngest daughter, who had not yet been found.

"Well," Hiashi said calmly. "It regards Yurei." An attentive silence fell across the room. "You see, last night he broke into the Hokage's office, before being captured by an ANBU, Kakashi and Gai. As per procedure, he was interrogated, which was no use at all as he managed to resist all forms of interrogation. After this, he was locked away in one of the highest security holding cells that the ANBU headquarters has to offer."

A vindicated smile spread across many of the room's occupants' faces.

"Then we no longer have any problem with Yurei and can act as we wish," one very satisfied Miadora Hyuuga said.

The room seemed to reach sub-zero temperatures as Hiashi spoke between gritted teeth. "Not…exactly." The council was confused. Hiashi elaborated. "Apparently, Yurei did not like the idea of being locked up. So, he promptly escaped from a maximum security prison and made his way to the surface, where he vanished like a ghost."

Silence reigned over the room at this statement, which was delivered calmly yet with an undercurrent of rage that left many Hyuuga sweating.

"W-What happened?" Hitori, one of Horensa's yes-men, asked.

"Good question," Hiashi said, almost jovially. "On his way out, Yurei faced thirteen Jonin and a pair of Chuunin. Nine of those Jonin were ANBU, the remaining four included Sarutobi Asuma, Yuuhi Kurenai, and myself. Seven of the ANBU are now hospitalized, he locked an ANBU in his own prison, evaded three others and forced Kurenai let him go so that she could save Asuma's life, as the man was bleeding to death after facing him."

"You faced him as well, Hiashi?" Horensa said, surprise tinged with derision in his voice. "He defeated you then?"

"He did not defeat me!" Hiashi said sharply, glaring so fiercely at the man that Horensa visibly cringed. "I was, however, unable to bring him in." So saying, Hiashi turned his full attention onto Horensa. "He did, however, have some interesting information that he volunteered…" Hiashi paused, so that the full impact of his words would hit the council.

"Apparently, he was under the impression that you, Horensa, were planning on sealing my daughter with the Cage Bird Seal while I was away."

The Hyuuga elder paled. Hiashi continued, his voice now deceptively mild. "Despite being in prison, Yurei was also able to ascertain that you had blackmailed Takashi-san over here into agreeing to place the Seal on my daughter by threatening his youngest, Higashi I believe her name is, with torture."

By now, all the elders, save one, Takashi, were sweating in their boots. This was not good. A slow grin spread over Takashi's face.

"Is this true?"

Horensa was shaking his head in denial. It was impossible. The man had been locked up. How could he have possibly found out about what had happened in the secrecy of their own compound?

"How did he know?" the gibbering elder babbled.

"That…" Hiashi said slowly, a vengeful smile threatening to break through his stoic expression, "was a confession." Eyes widening, Horensa snapped and bolted towards Hiashi, hands aglow with chakra. Moving too fast to be seen, the Hyuuga head sent an Eight Trigrams: Air Palm straight into Horensa's chest, sending him crashing to the floor.

"Guards!" Hiashi called out, still in a deceptively mild tone of voice, prompting two branch members to enter the room. "Restart his heart and take that worthless sack of shit into custody…I'm not quite done with him yet."

"Are you mad, Hiashi?" Hitori shouted. "You could have killed the man!"

Hiashi sighed. "I'm not that lucky. Now, if I'm right, most of the rest of you were going along with Horensa's plan as well, despite Yurei's threats and my express orders not to." As one, the elders swallowed.

Meanwhile, down in the Underworld, a voice could be heard that was far too happy for its setting.

"Hello, hello! Back again so soon?"

Horensa's girlish screams echoed throughout Shinigami's realm.

* * *

"Why do you act so harshly towards your dad?" Kurenai asked Asuma curiously, slightly disappointed with the way he had initially brushed off his father, despite his obvious worry for him.

Asuma sighed. "I suppose that it all goes back to the reason why I joined the Guardian Shinobi Twelve. Dad is an excellent Hokage, fiercely protective of the 'leaves' of the 'Great Tree.' Most people would probably say that he looks on every villager of Konoha as family…they would be wrong." Asuma paused for a moment to take a long drag on his cigarette, ignoring Kurenai's frown. "When it comes to family, Dad reaches a whole new level of protective," he chuckled quietly. "Naruto is a good example of this."

"But he isn't-"

"Blood? No, Naruto may not be a blood relative, but he calls the Hokage Old Man; hell, he basically claimed him as a grandfather, and I'll be damned if Dad doesn't look on him as another Grandson."

Kurenai nodded her head in understanding.

"Anyway, when it comes down to it, I've seen him time and time again risk his life for people of this village without a second thought. After being with the Twelve for a while, I was able to recognize what his death would mean, what kind of worldwide repercussions him dying would cause. So I marched right up there, full of righteous indignation and told him exactly how foolish he had been," Asuma finished with a smile on his face, obviously reminiscing on that moment.

"What happened?" Kurenai asked. "Did he chew you out?"

"No," Asuma said, shaking his head. "Worse. Thing is that he honestly did not understand how he could have done anything else. He just looked at me and asked curiously: 'How could I have done otherwise? They are the leaves of this Great Tree.' Man, I felt like such a heartless bastard after that."

Kurenai giggled. She could well imagine the scene. "Well, I forgive you, but I thought you said that this story was about Naruto?"

Asuma's laughing expression died, and a blank look entered his eyes. "Yeah, it was, wasn't it? I warn you, though, this is not a pretty story." Kurenai gestured for him to continue.

Sighing, Asuma continued in a grim tone of voice. "You know that Naruto is...not exactly popular, right?" Kurenai just looked at him, both eyebrows raised in an expression that said: You're really asking me that question? She was making an effort to lighten the conversation, which had somehow gotten much darker very quickly.

If anything, Asuma's voice became even more foreboding. "It may be hard to believe, but it used to be a whole lot worse." Kurenai's eyes widened.

Slowly, Asuma outlined the story. "It started out with small things, like mild doses of food poisoning. Sometimes the gas was left on in his apartment, or he'd get sold a kettle with bad wiring. We didn't think anything of it really. Naruto was just a kid and these are all things that a kid would do. Then the kid got sick a couple of times. We thought nothing of it, until one day he began vomiting and vomiting until he started puking up sick mixed with blood. Turns out that someone had been slipping doses of cyanide into his meals for…a very long time. The kid had eaten enough of the stuff to demolish a full battalion. Yet not only did he survive, but he's completely immune to the stuff now. Then accidents started to happen. One such example was a flowerpot falling to the ground when he was underneath. That one split his skull, but it healed up in under an hour. He 'fell' down a rather large flight of stone steps a couple of times, once he was kept in the hospital overnight for observation. By that time, Dad had put a detail on him. Strangely enough, Kakashi was the most eager volunteer. He was the one who realized that Naruto's saline drip had been tampered with. It was fresh water instead of salt."

Kurenai was horrified. Injecting that much fresh water into someone's bloodstream was normally a death sentence. Fresh water would be absorbed by red blood cells, which, being unable to stop absorbing fresh water, would eventually burst, letting the fresh water escape back into the bloodstream where it could find a new red blood cell and repeat the process. Eventually, your blood would lose the ability to carry sufficient oxygen to your brain and you would suffocate. Slowly.

Asuma shrugged. "After a while, I guess they got sick of waiting, cause they sent a cutter to just slit Naruto's throat. Kakashi was waiting."

"Who was the cutter?" Kurenai asked.

Asuma shrugged. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" she asked incredulously.

"Once Kakashi had finished with him, he was unidentifiable...but the Copycat still got the location of a meeting of would-be assassins that were meeting that very evening. Dad went in alone."

Asuma shook his head, his voice tinged with dread. "That evening reminded me just how much of a gap there is between my dad's skills and my own. I still remember seeing him come out of that room, clad in his battle gear, with Enma at his side. They both had so much blood on them that they could have almost passed for an Uzumaki. I was already a Jonin at that time, and once I had finished throwing up after I saw their remains, if they could even still be classified as such, I had a question to ask dad. 'I thought that they were Leaves of the Great Tree,' I said. He just looked at me and growled out: 'Screw the bloody leaves of the damn Tree. Naruto is family.' After that he excused himself and got washed up. Apparently he still had some paperwork to do."

Kurenai was silent for a moment, yet she couldn't help but ask, "So, the assassination attempts stopped after that?"

Asuma gave a bark of laughter. "You know it. Once again, it was Kakashi who made a point of this, but he, with the Hokage's permission, dragged every member of the council to that room, for the purpose of identifying the bodies and told them the story of what had happened. After that, there was not a single person willing to risk attempting to kill Naruto. He was five years old at the time."

There was silence for a while, and Asuma stubbed out his cigarette and reached for another one.

"I never really thought of the Hokage as so…ruthless," Kurenai broke in before Asuma had a chance to light up again.

The younger Sarutobi shrugged. "He's not all the time, just overprotective. I mean, take a look at me. I'm an A-ranked shinobi, yet, before I went to the 12, I was lucky if Dad gave me a B-ranked mission. He didn't want me to do anything too risky. After I joined the 12, Dad and I eventually had a talk together and he told me that he would try and be dispassionate about what missions he gives me. Before that, it felt like he was insulting what I had worked so hard to achieve."

Kurenai nodded. "I understand."

Asuma smiled at her and placed his hands on the back of his head. "Come to think of it, that is probably why Dad was so hard on this Yurei chap in the first place."

"Oh? I thought he was just following protocol."

"Mostly. There were really only two ways that, as a Hokage, he could have perceived Yurei. One: a major security leak and a highly skilled spy, or two: a loyal Konoha shinobi who has been AWOL for almost 12 years, which would classify him as a Rogue Ninja. Having a Yamanaka look through his head is the first thing that he would normally do. When that didn't work, the machine was the only other option, really. But I'm talking about sealing away his chakra, or trying to, anyway, since, judging from what he did afterward, Yurei did indeed have access to at least _some _of his chakra. That was probably because of Dad's natural inclination to protect family. Yurei had mentioned that he knew who had killed my mother and he knew far too much about Naruto. _That_ was why he tried to seal him. He simply knew too much and was too powerful to do otherwise."

"Then why did he let him go?" Kurenai asked.

Asuma shrugged. "There was no way that they could have caught him, and, from what dad tells me, he had already come across several Shinobi who had faced him. All were very carefully knocked out, and he never once tried to kill them. That, more than anything else, convinced him that Yurei was not going to harm Konoha."

Asuma snorted suddenly. "That is the reason why Dad often feels inferior to the Yondaime. He would sacrifice himself for the village in a heartbeat. He's now able to force himself to send his family on missions that could be deadly. But…deliberately and knowingly sacrificing your family for the good of the village? He doesn't think himself capable of it."

Kurenai nodded in agreement and bit her lip. All of this talk of Sarutobi family values, and the fact that she had almost seen Asuma die right in front of her, had got her to thinking. "Asuma…I've been thinking, ever since-"

An ANBU arrived right next to them. "Forgive my intrusion, but you two have been summoned to appear before the Hokage."

Kurenai cursed both the ANBU and their 'perfect timing.'

* * *

Naruto woke up laying on his back, staring at a bright blue sky with clouds that raced swiftly across the heavens, driven by the wind. Yet...something was different. Holding his arm up, Naruto's eyebrows shot up as he saw a very familiar arm…yet one that he hadn't seen for a long time...at least, not without deliberately making it so. Standing up, he surveyed himself, wondering why he was in his older body rather than being the kid he had become.

"Okay, that's new," he said, shrugging to himself, before looking around to see where he was. Naruto gasped. He could hardly believe the sights he could see. He was standing in the midst of an island. Rolling plains filled his vision, oceans of grass standing taller than a man reaching toward the sky. Beyond that was the sea, rocking and plunging as it was buffeted by the wind. Scattered around the island were waterspouts, tornadoes of wind and water whose marriage threw a fine silver mist throughout the area. The mist caught the light of the sun, sending multifaceted rainbows dancing around while lightning crashed down from a cloudless sky. Naruto felt almost as if he were floating. Looking down, he noticed that his feet had indeed left the ground. Shocked, he reached out and pulled himself back to the ground using the grass around him and latched himself to the floor using chakra. Yet, somehow, it was not working as well as it should.

"A wise choice," a deep voice reverberated at him. "If you leave the ground here, then you will never again return."

Turning, Naruto beheld a giant of a man, clad in old-fashioned armor. A mask of forged gold hid his face, and he had the scabbard of a long sword at his side. A wooden bottle of sake was clutched in one hand, and he had a bow slung over his shoulder. The scabbard was empty.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked suspiciously.

The figure gave a chuckle that sounded like thunder rumbling in the distance. "I feel as if I must congratulate you boy. You have done a great many things to be proud of in your short life." He held out his hand and began ticking things off. "You are the first male Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi and the first human to go back in time. You are also the first mortal to befriend that bastard Shinigami and stay alive while doing it."

Naruto shrugged uncomfortably. "I wouldn't really call us friends…to be frank with you I'm kind of terrified that he'll go all Death God on me again if I show him disrespect." The man blinked, surprised that Naruto showed such foresight. It was not completely what he had expected him to do.

"Or worse," Naruto muttered under his breath, "the Baka might start going all pervy about me and Hinata again." The armored figure snorted. That had been more along the lines of what he had been expecting.

"And finally," the unknown figure continued. "You are the first in more than a millennium who has drawn so deeply on the wind that you have entered my realm instead of going straight to Shinigami's."

Naruto paused, his face incredulous. "Back up a second. Do you mean to tell me that you're Susano'o?"

The newly identified God of Storms nodded. Naruto was now fuming at him. "What did you mean trying to test me like that? Six ANBU! SIX! I'm still just a Genin remember? Why would you make me go through something like that? I could have died," he finished, anime tears streaming down his face.

"Er…you _are_ dying."

"WHAT?"

"You drew too much on the wind. Right now, your very flesh is becoming air itself and you will soon be passing from this world."

Naruto was speechless. All that he had done, and he was going to die _now?_

"Unless, of course, I send you back."

Naruto was instantly wary. One thing that he had learned very early was that favors were rarely free.

"Why would you do that?"

Susano'o shrugged his shoulders. "You're a Namikaze. Wave and wind…put them together and you've got a storm. I was your clan's patron god. Plus…you're an interesting child. It would be a pity to ruin such potential entertainment before you really had a chance to get going."

"Gee, well thanks for that!" Naruto said worriedly, as his feet had now left the ground and the only thing keeping him from floating away was the grass that he was holding onto. "So, can I go now?"

Susano'o laughed, and, somehow, Naruto was not surprised. "Nice one, kid, nice one. Before I let you go, _if _I decide to let you go, that is, you have to past a little test of mine."

"A test? NOW?"

"Yes," Susano'o stated, dropping in a sweeping kick that cleaved through the grass holding Naruto to the ground. Naruto gave a yelp as he sprang towards the firmament like an arrow from a bow, only to come to an abrupt halt as Susano'o grabbed hold of his hand with a clap.

"What is this?" Naruto yelled.

"You fail the test…I let you go."

"Alright," Naruto growled. "Get on with it."

Susano'o chuckled. "I like you, kid, you got spunk. So, before we get underway, I'm going to offer you a gift."

Naruto was immediately wary. "What kind of gift?"

Wind howled around Naruto, shredding his clothes. Lightning struck the ground all around them, setting the grass aflame only for the fire to be immediately drowned by the rain that sheeted down to earth, sending steam hissing all around them, raising blisters on Naruto's skin. And the whole time, the crashing of thunder deafened him. Yet, at the same time, simply describing it seemed to be so…inadequate. This was truly something that had to be seen to realize just how humbling being exposed to these raging elements was. Yet all of that paled in face of the sheer _presence_ that the being in front of him simply exuded.

"Why don't you think of one?" Susano'o asked with a smirk.

Naruto swallowed and licked his suddenly dry lips. "Figures, why would I have ever thought that Susano'o would want to be circumspect?"

Susano'o laughed. "Choose any gift that you desire Naruto. I have the power to make you a god among men."

For a moment, the idea of it caught Naruto within its sultry grasp. He was being offered power, more power than he would ever be able to gain alone. He could use that power for good. He could use it to defeat Madara; he could use it to protect his precious people. And yet…if he failed the test, he would die, war would still come and all his precious people would…no, it didn't bear thinking about. Abruptly, the words of Shinigami came to him, something that all those within the court of the gods had agreed upon: 'No mortal should have that kind of power.' Naruto bit his lip and made his choice.

"Have you decided?" Susano'o asked quietly, his voice still reverberating around him.

"Yes!" Naruto said. "Now put me down!"

"Not until you tell me your decision."

"Fine! I don't want your stupid power! That's something that the old Sasuke would have done! Not me!"

"You cannot refuse the gift of a god!"

"Fine!" Naruto yelled again. "Give your gift to Hinata. Not enough to make her all powerful, but enough so that if I'm gone, she will always be able to protect herself!"

"Is that your final answer?" Susano'o roared, causing Naruto's heart to skip a beat.

"Yes!"

Susano'o smiled, his voice became kind and comforting. "You have chosen wisely."

Abruptly, Naruto was back on his feet, finally feeling stable and completely clothed. Once again, the area was calm.

"You are a very interesting human, Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze. You are the first person who has passed this test in a millennium."

"So…I'm not going to die?" Naruto asked cautiously.

"No, not yet."

"Yatta!"

"However," Susano'o said, drawing the word out.

Naruto ceased his celebrations. Honestly, he should have known that there would have been a 'but' somewhere in this.

"However, you are still stuck in my realm unless I send you back."

"Pleaaaase?" Naruto said, trying the puppy dog eyes on him.

Susano'o shuddered and turned away. "I will do so, provided that you promise me to do me a favor."

"What kind of favor?" Naruto asked warily.

Susano'o gestured to the overgrown grass all around them. "I need Kusanagi back. Orochimaru found it through ways that I will not divulge, but I want the Grass Longsword back in my possession. Promise to do that for me, and I will send you back."

Naruto immediately nodded and stuck out his hand. "Deal."

Susano'o chuckled slightly at the gesture but shook Naruto's hand anyway. The deal was struck.

* * *

Iruka swallowed as he looked around the room. He knew, of course, that every person around him was a comrade and that they all served the village of Konoha, but still, he could not help but feel a little bit overawed…and maybe slightly inferior. After all, he was in a room that was dominated mostly by Jonin. Some of the more notable members of the group were Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yuuhi, Ibiki Morino, Hayate Gekko, and Anko Mitarashi. The aforementioned Snake Mistress staring at him like he was a piece of meat did not really help matters. Actually, it didn't help them at all.

The entrance door flung open with a bang, allowing the Hokage to stroll into the office, flanked by eight ANBU, who were dragging a seemingly reluctant Kakashi behind them, while being dragged themselves by a not-so-reluctant Gai. Among them was one very peculiar ANBU. Unlike the others, he wore a white coat instead of the more traditional black ones. However, he did wear black trousers with bandages tied around his right leg. Finally, there was his mask, unique among all others. A plain white porcelain veneer covered his face, decorated only with detailed eyebrows and three thick stripes, two along either of his cheeks and one on his forehead. Pointed ears completed the motif of a fox. Although the animal had gathered a lot of hatred after that October 10th, Konoha still acknowledged Kyuubi's strength, perhaps more than any other village in the elemental nations. Which is why there was only ever one Fox mask, worn by the ANBU commander-in-chief of Konoha. Iruka swallowed nervously.

"Thank you all for coming," Hiruzen said. "I summoned you here today after gaining some very important information."

The men and women around him leaned forward.

Before saying anything more, the Hokage signaled Kakashi, who used a series of hand-signs too fast to make out before slamming his hands down in the middle of the room. Seals and fuinjutsu characters glowed abruptly for a period of five seconds before fading into nothingness. After they did so, four ANBU sat around Kakashi in a diamond formation, each of them placing their hands over Kakashi's before the one-time student of the Yondaime withdrew his hands, allowing the ANBU to take over the task of feeding chakra to his sensei's privacy seals.

The ANBU nodded to their Hokage, indicating that the room was completely secure. Hiruzen inclined his head in thanks before speaking once more, his voice quiet and serious.

"War is coming."

Every person in the room tensed at these words. Several of them had some very vivid memories of fighting in a war before. It was not something that they wanted to take part in again.

It was at this moment that Iruka felt even more out of place. "Um, excuse me, Lord Hokage, but if this is a meeting to inform some of your top Jonin about an upcoming war, then forgive my need to ask, but why on earth am _I_ here?"

Sarutobi chuckled. "I'll get to that."

"Where did you come across this information, Lord Hokage?" Ibiki asked, feeling a little bit left out. Most of the time, when it came to information, he was among the first to know.

"Yurei passed a message on to us. A slightly cryptic one, it is true, but nonetheless easily decipherable."

"You believe him?" Kakashi asked, his voice a monotone.

"Yes, I do. The message went like this: 'when the playful war comes to the Leaf, the Snake will strike, in the final hour.' Translation-"

"Dear old Sensei is coming back home," Anko said in a singsong voice. All those that were close to her took a step back, fearful of the flame that seemed to be guttering in her eyes.

"That does not give us a lot of information," Gai muttered.

"Yet it gives us more than we had," Asuma said, taking a drag from his cigarette.

"He intends to attack us in the next Chuunin exams that come to Konoha," Kurenai said, gritting her teeth.

The blood left Iruka's face, and he turned a little green as he realized exactly why the Hokage had wanted him, an academy teacher, in a meeting of Jonin.

"My students will be Genin by then," Iruka said, feeling as if he were about to hurl. "Some of them may even be in the Chuunin exams."

The Hokage nodded. "I will not allow them to be in such a situation unprepared. So, I ask you this, Iruka, who in your class will be ready to become a Shinobi by next week?"

Iruka placed his hand over his face and closed his eyes. He had not always been an academy teacher. He had faced the front lines before and had seen friends die right in front of him. That was when he started teaching. To put it simply, he cared too much. He was unable to distance himself from caring for those who surrounded him and broke down once he had witnessed their deaths.

And the same problem had now reared its ugly head. He loved his students, some more than others, and the fact that his decision right now could send them to an early grave was not something that he enjoyed thinking about.

Seeing Iruka's obvious consternation, Kakashi went up and eye-smiled at him, clapping his hand on Iruka's shoulder and speaking quietly to the man. "Come on, Dolphin, the Hokage is asking you a question."

Iruka slowly took a deep breath in. "Thanks…Dog," he said, quietly enough for their conversation to remain unheard.

"Forgive me, Hokage-sama," Iruka said, stepping forward. "We have an extremely promising class of hopefuls this year, including a number of heirs from some very prominent clans. Although I am not sure if all of them are ready for the shinobi lifestyle, I believe that they will be competent enough to pass both the academy exam and the graduation testing."

"Their names?" Sarutobi asked as he stated rummaging in a pile of folders."

"Certainly. Sasuke Uchiha, Shikamaru Nara, Hinata Hyuuga, Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka, and Ino Yamanaka."

"Is that in order of ability?" Anko asked curiously.

Iruka hesitated. "Mostly. Hinata, however, is a better ninja than Shikamaru, perhaps even Sasuke, but I cannot tell how much her own nature will affect her performance in the field. She's a very kind girl, you see. At the same time, Shikamaru is absolutely brilliant but is hindered by his own laziness."

Anko smiled brightly. It was good to know that there was at least one capable Kunoichi in the year.

"And the civilians?"

Iruka shook his head as he answered the Hokage's question. "Not good. Most of them will pass the academy test, only to fail the graduation exam and have to repeat the year. There's one, Sakura Haruno, that I am confident will be able to get an early graduation. She's top of the class out of the girls, although the way things are going, Hinata will have taken that position from her in less than a month. She's got the book smarts to get full marks academically and her chakra control is very highly developed, meaning that she performs the academy three flawlessly, but Hinata trumps her in every physical exercise. Apart from Sakura, I can't think of any other civilian who will be ready, Hokage-sama."

"What about Naruto Uzumaki?" every ANBU in the room asked as one.

The Jonin turned to the ANBU, greatly surprised at their concerted outburst. To be fair, though, they had not dealt with Naruto nearly as much as the ANBU had.

Iruka's initial answer confused everyone present. "I'd say that Naruto, more than any other student I have, is ready for the life of a Shinobi."

"Then why did you not recommend him?" Gai asked, youthfully.

Iruka shrugged. "Simple. He won't pass the academy test, so that fact is immaterial. For some reason, he finds it impossible to do the bunshin no jutsu and I'm afraid that if he can not perform that jutsu to satisfaction then I cannot allow him to pass."

"What about Rock Lee?" asked Asuma, curiously.

"A different case. Although unable to do any jutsu whatsoever, Gai sponsored him and took him on as an apprentice, staking his own reputation on Lee's potential. Naruto will just have to try again next year."

Several ANBU sighed, in both relief and sympathy for the boy. Relief because the idea of Naruto being a full-fledged ninja was one that they did not like to entertain...and sympathy because, at the end of the day, many of them genuinely liked the boy.

Hiruzen frowned at Iruka's blunt assessment of Naruto's chances at graduation.

"That does not seem entirely fair, Iruka. If Naruto is as capable as you say he is then I do not wish to hold him back for the lack of one jutsu that is not even used in many combat situations."

Iruka shrugged helplessly. "I'm just following the curriculum, Hokage-sama."

"And if you follow the curriculum, then Naruto will definitely fail," Kakashi mused, before sighing contentedly. "Glad I'm not in ANBU anymore."

"Why is that, Kakashi-sempai?" Wolf asked guardedly.

Kakashi eye-smiled at his old comrade in arms. "Simple, of course. If Naruto fails the graduation test, then he has six weeks of holidays before the term starts up again."

"I don't follow," Kurenai said frankly.

The ANBU, however, evidently did. Six weeks' holidays would mean six weeks of Naruto being without the academy. Six weeks without the academy meant six weeks of Naruto unsupervised. Six weeks of Naruto unsupervised meant six weeks of Naruto _alone_…and when Naruto was alone, he usually got bored.

And when Naruto was bored, he tended to find ways to amuse himself…

Kakashi giggled perversely, having evidently found a good part in his book, although he may also have been laughing at the sight of three ANBU sitting in the corner wrapped up in the fetal position. Two of them were rocking back and forth. The last, a rookie ANBU who, as of his first meeting with Naruto, was severely regretting his career change, was mumbling underneath his breath, rocking ferociously.

Kakashi, being curious as to what was being said, turned his chakra enhanced ears to catch what the rookie was saying.

"I is a good boy mommy, no more pink spandex! Orange is the color of the devil! Horse is a good boy!"

Kakashi turned his attention to something, anything else, shuddering slightly. That was just wrong. Yet he could not help but smirk slightly. He almost pitied the one who got Naruto as a student.

"Come on," Kurenai said disbelievingly. "He can't be that bad."

At this, every ANBU in the room, both past and present, stopped whatever it was they were doing and looked first at Kurenai and then at each other.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"HORSE IS A GOOD BOY!"

Ignoring the weeping rookie, Iruka took it upon himself to explain the situation to its full extent. "From what I remember, the last time Naruto failed the academy, he declared an all-out prank war on Konoha as a whole…thing is that it went a little bit…overboard."

"What happened?"

Looking at each other significantly, Iruka and the Hokage swallowed, feeling slightly nervous, and told them everything.

(Time-skip)

Chaos and disbelieving horror ran through the room. Kakashi was wide-eyed and pale. Asuma had just started on his second pack of cigarettes and Kurenai had fallen to the ground in a dead faint. These were some of the more circumspect reactions. Anko, on the other hand, looked starstruck.

"You know what?" she said, slowly. "Training this bunch of brats may be a whole lot more fun than I thought."

"That was him?" Hayate said incredulously.

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama, I do not believe that we should let Naruto go completely free for all of this, I know that he is a…special case, but…"

"I completely agree with you, Ibiki-san," Sarutobi said.

Ibiki blinked, not expecting it to be quite that easy to convince the man. "Then why is it that nothing has been done?" he asked, slowly, knowing that there must be a reason, yet the only one that came up to him was, frankly, unbelievable.

"There's just one problem, Ibiki," Hiruzen said, grimacing slightly. "We can't prove that Naruto did it."

"We're pretty sure that it was Naruto that did it, but…Naruto realized that he had gone a bit too far this time, so he covered his tracks, or, at least, we think he did. In the chaos that followed, it was probably a lot easier. Personally, I'm still not even sure how he could get so many…supplies. Let alone how he was able to enter so many top security areas in a single week, including our water supply. I know he did not have any evil intentions, but if he had…"

"Then he could have realistically caused damage to the entirety of Konoha."

The ANBU looked at Fox, feeling slightly panicked. Fox, however, stood calmly, arms crossed. He had already reached his decision. By hook or by crook, Naruto would pass this upcoming academy exam. Even if he had to order his ANBU to act as Naruto's very own private tutor.

* * *

Hiashi was getting worried. After the discussions that he had been given by Naruto, he had been making a concerted effort to get his priorities straight. As such, he had just spent the last couple of hours searching personally for Hinata. Admittedly, this may have had something to do with the fact that, without Hinata as a witness, he could not properly sentence Horensa. The Hyuuga Head was getting better, but he was still a long way from perfect. In his defense, Hiashi _really_ wanted to see that pompous old man get the shaft.

Yet the longer he spent searching unsuccessfully for his daughter, the more he began to find himself becoming genuinely concerned. He had already checked Kurenai's place, only to find that she was not home, before he searched most of the nearby training grounds. Still no luck. Grimacing slightly, Hiashi finally decided to cease prolonging the inevitable and began making his way to Naruto Uzumaki's residence.

Hiashi made it three steps before he paused, his brow furrowed as he realized that there was a flaw in his plans. He did not know where the young Uzumaki lived. Of course, being a member of the shinobi council, he at least knew the district that Naruto lived in, being one of those who had cast their vote for Naruto to reside there in the first place. His reasoning for doing so was sound, in his mind at least. The area in which Naruto was to reside was sparsely populated, therefore, if the young jinchuriki at any time lost control of his tenant, then casualties could be kept to a minimum. However, despite this, Naruto's actual address eluded him. Sighing at the inconvenience, Hiashi turned towards the Hokage tower and began the trek to see the Third. Of course, he could just enter the district and ask a citizen for directions, but that would be far too much of a…too much of a drag. Indeed, having the general population of Konoha wondering why his twelve-year-old daughter had spent the night over in a young male's apartment...Hiashi shuddered imperceptibly. No, that would simply not do at all. And if they found out that it was not just any male, but the "demon brat"?

As Hiashi made his way to the Hokage's Tower, he wondered when it was that he first started feeling guilty for referring to Naruto by that particular title.

Hiashi had been forced to wait for about twenty minutes before the Hokage had finished his previous meeting. He came out bearing a sword, one that was extremely familiar to him.

"Ah, Hiashi-san, were you wanting me?" Hiruzen asked.

Hiashi nodded, bowing his head towards his Kage. "Indeed, Sarutobi-sama. My daughter has gone missing, and I was hoping for your assistance in finding her."

The Professor's eyes flashed with concern, immediately thinking the worst. "I shall send out search parties at once," he said softly, remembering the incident with Kumo just a few years ago. His voice was quiet, calm, yet molten steel could be heard buried deep within.

Hiashi hastened to correct him. "That won't be necessary, Lord Hokage, I have the situation well in hand, the culprit has already been detained. All I need from you now are the directions to Uzumaki-san's residence.

Hiruzen was confused. "Shouldn't they be at the academy?"

Hiashi merely nodded.

The Third just sighed. "I was on my way to speak to Naruto myself. If he's not at the academy, he's probably at home...or at Ichiraku's."

Hiashi nodded again, amicably. "Then, by your leave, I shall accompany you." The Hyuuga walked towards the door, only to find that the Hokage had not moved.

"Explain." It was not a request. Uncharacteristically, Hiashi gave him a rueful smile.

"This is going to be a long walk. Well, I suppose you could say that it all started when the Hyuuga council and I found out that my daughter had been keeping some…questionable company…"

It was indeed a long story, one that was carefully hidden under a not-so-subtle genjutsu. Yes, it did mean that those nearby were aware that the two of them were engaged in a private conversation. So what? They were ninja–and, therefore, naturally secretive–and a conversation between the Hokage and a Clan Head often entailed things that were need-to-know only. One could, in fact, argue that this was a far safer method of communication than most. A room could be bugged, either with seals or electronics, a conversation in the shadows could be overheard, but this? The Hokage was walking in plain sight. The genjutsu was there, and it was obvious...yet _strong._ Most any ninja able to pierce such a technique would also be able to sense their own Kage's chakra and would therefore leave well enough alone. In the event that the illusion _was_ dispelled, then the Third was skilled enough to immediately sense such a thing and send his escorting ANBU to apprehend the spy, for who else would try to eavesdrop on the private conversations of Konoha's military leader?

Fortunately, by the time they reached Naruto's apartment, Hiruzen had got the general gist of it. Ceasing his genjutsu, he mused over the most important aspects he had gathered from the clan head, namely that Hiashi was a bastard trying to get better, Hinata really did not deserve all the crap that had happened to her, and Horensa was going to need an extended session with both Anko and Ibiki, followed by a leisurely execution. His musings were interrupted by one of his ANBU breaking their habitual silence.

"Ah, shit."

"What's the matter, Fox-san?" Hiashi asked curiously.

"From what I can see, Hiashi-san, Naruto has closed his window." A round of heavily repressed expletives went through the surrounding ANBU. It would not do to swear in front of their commander.

The Hokage was also quite confused. "How is that a problem?"

"Well, sir," Cat said, flipping her long hair over her shoulder, "Naruto's apartment is one of the more secure homes in Konoha."

Hiruzen nodded. He knew that; after all, he and Jiraiya had put many of the security measures in place as a joint effort to protect the kid.

"Is that why I have difficulty seeing through it with my Byakugan?" Hiashi asked curiously.

Wolf nodded. "The building has been strengthened with a number of jutsu. The door, for instance, would take a strong jutsu, normally a B-rank or higher, to break down, or someone of Gai's physical strength. And when everything is locked up, the apartment puts a barrier jutsu into place. This was necessary after some of the more…radical elements of Konoha tried to torch his apartment."

Hiashi blinked. He could understand the amount of labor that would have gone into such a project. He could also not deny that such measures were logical to use in the protection of such a valuable military resource. Yet, somehow, he doubted that this logical reasoning had been part of the Hokage's motivation at all.

"Problem is," Hawk continued slowly, grimacing as he did so, "that all this was before Naruto decided to do some of his own work to strengthen security…"

"Normally he'll just leave the window open, since it's mostly civilians who give him trouble, but, with it closed, we're going to have to take the…"

"Path of Death," the ANBU spoke in unison, a shiver of apprehension running down their spine. Yet despite that, their eyes shone with excitement.

"That's a rather pretentious name for Uzumaki-san to give his little pranks," Hiashi snorted.

The ANBU looked at him blankly. "What do you mean, Hiashi-sama?" Horse asked curiously.

"We were the ones to name it."

A large bead of moisture appeared at the backs of Hiashi and Hiruzen's heads as Fox called for backup, stating that he was shortly going to be putting them under some extreme training.

* * *

Naruto had made much progress since he first came back in time. Some of his more notable achievements included a better relationship with his friends, especially Hinata. He had more than tripled his jutsu repertoire, his taijutsu had improved, and his kenjutsu was now slightly more competent than something which would have once caused someone like Zabuza or Kisame to die laughing. Combine that with his increased intellect and skills with tactics, not to mention the fact that he was now even more difficult to kill, and he was now a force to be reckoned with.

Yet none of that changed the fact that, if he had to fight his future self, he would have his ass handed to him. Sage mode simply kicked that much ass. His most potent weapon right now was a double edged sword, much like using Kyuubi. He was also pretty sure that both Gai and Kakashi could still beat him in a straight-up fight. Those two were legends in their own right and simply had far too much experience over him. Which meant that Baa-chan and Ero-sennin would wipe the floor with him. However, if Baa-chan were to start with that 'one-finger' shtick then he _would_ drop her on her ass.

Knowing that his size was a limiting factor in his strength, Shinigami had therefore set him to focusing on things that he had all but forgotten. Things like stealth, patience, and dirty fighting. A lot of this training included the various pranks that he set up around the village. But this had opened another set of abilities that he had not used since becoming a Genin. Trap-making. And after some practice, the traps had begun to get more and more elaborate. Not to mention dangerous. And gosh, he had spent so much time on some that were just too damn lethal to throw away! Especially with all those people spraying graffiti all over the place. Most of it was not very complimentary. The rest of it was worse.

Which was where the permission to do some renovating came in. Fortunately, he was the only one living in the building, which belonged to a member of the civilian council. After the display that he had put on for them, as well as being shown just how much political power he could theoretically bring to bear, he had decided to get into the Uzumaki's good graces and given Naruto free reign of the entire building. In return, Naruto was now paying him double rent. It wasn't as if he couldn't afford it at this point, and the building wasn't doing the merchant any good aside from tax purposes anyway.

The first thing that Naruto had done was to seal up his original front door, the one that led directly outside. It could still be used as a conventional exit, just not as an entryway anymore, unless, of course, you happened to have your chakra signature keyed in to the doorknob. At the present time, only he and Hinata had access to this trap-free entrance. Anyone else would be administered a rather painful shock.

Next on the agenda was to cut another doorway into the apartment next door, which proved to be a relatively easy task. Not only did this give him twice the living space, it also gave him a new front door that opened directly into the top floor's corridor.

After sealing all the lower windows and entrances, a task that Shinigami had to wheedle and cajole him to do, before giving up and using the outright bribery of a new jutsu, there were only two entrances to the apartment building: his window and the main door. Naruto lived on the top floor, which meant that in order to get to him, one had to go through ten floors of Naruto's own particular brand of devilry. Incidentally, Naruto found his seal work greatly improved due to all the practice. So much so that he was able to add a sensor seal to his array, one which measured the amount and quality of a person's chakra and then adjusted the level of which traps to use in order to compensate. Hell, he had done enough work that his sealing array could even tell the difference between a person and an elemental clone! Unfortunately, figuring out whether or not it was a Kage Bunshin was a lot more difficult. This meant that no lethal traps were ever used against an ordinary civilian. Yet since this particular invading party was made up of numerous Chuunin, a heavy sprinkling of Jonin of varying quality, not to mention a clan head and the Hokage _himself…_well, they were going to be in for their own few hours of hell.

* * *

Hiashi watched, bemused, as the number of ANBU in the area increased from five, to thirty. That wasn't including the medic ninja that they had dragged from wherever they could find them. So far, they had six, including Hana Inuzuka, the village's top vet, despite her age.

Seeing Hiashi, someone she knew in passing due to her mother's position on the shinobi council, Hana wandered over.

"Any idea what is going on here?" she muttered curiously. Hiashi's broody silence told her that he had no idea.

"It almost looks as if they are about to invade a hostile area," Hana continued, uncaring of Hiashi's Hyuuga superiority complex.

"It does, doesn't it?" Hiashi mused, shaking his head. Truth be told, he was completely confused as to the motions that the ANBU were going through. Especially when they started unsealing tactical armor from several scrolls that seemed to have been brought along for the occasion. His confusion grew to slight alarm when a pair of ANBU started unsealing and handing out gas masks.

"Lord Hokage…do you know what the ANBU are doing?" Hiashi asked slowly

"Haven't the foggiest," the Hokage said succinctly.

"We just have a rather…healthy respect for Naruto-san's abilities, hence the need for you medics."

"I'm not a medic, I'm a _vet!"_ Hana objected, confused as to why she was here. "I've never really practiced on humans before."

"Don't worry, Hana-san," Cat said kindly. "You'll have plenty of practice before this day is out."

"But, but, I'm used to completely different body structures!" The Inuzuka heir protested.

"That's fine, too," Lizard said darkly. "Odds are that you'll get the chance to work on some 'completely different body structures' before we're through as well."

Hana's closed her mouth with a snap after realizing that she had left it hanging open.

Hawk nodded emphatically, agreeing with Lizard's assessment, before he turned to Wolf. "Wolf-san, would you mind checking the entrance?"

Wolf just looked at him. Hawk shivered slightly at the ghoul-like expression that he just _knew_ was being shown, despite the mask that was hiding it.

"Yes, Hawk-san, yes I would."

Rolling his eyes at his colleagues, Lizard stepped forward. "Allow me," he said, performing six hand-signs.

"Iwa Bunshin no Jutsu."

Hiashi was highly surprised at the use of this jutsu, as it was one that was guarded zealously by Iwa. The rock clone was more durable than any other bunshin, although it was also a great deal less intelligent. Much like the average Rock ninja, in Hiashi's opinion. Still, it was somewhat surprising that such a jutsu would be used so casually.

While the other ANBU exclaimed over their stupidity at not thinking to send a clone in first, Lizard sent the Bunshin to scout ahead.

Trusting in its strength, the clone, using no tactics whatsoever, charged, in a very Naruto-like fashion, straight through the front door.

SHINK!

All eyes were drawn to the small boulder as it rolled along the floor, stopping at the feet of the wide-eyed Hiruzen and his companions and revealing the face of the decapitated rock clone before it crumbled to dust.

"Pity," Fox said, sounding genuinely disappointed. "It's only on the 'Passive-Aggressive' setting."

Lizard, Cat, Hawk, Wolf, and even Horse, however, heaved a large sigh of relief. Some of the other ANBU, conversely, were not so relieved. Worry settled over them as they began muttering to each other under their breath.

"Why did he do that, he knows that It doesn't like clones…"

"Lizard-taichou has angered the Demons of the Path!"

"Perhaps….a virgin sacrifice?"

"Where's Kakashi when you need him?"

Seeing his men getting restless, Fox took action.

"ANBU, GATHER!"

As one, the ANBU gathered in front of their captain, summoned by the authority that reverberated in Fox's voice.

"Wolf, if you please?" Fox asked politely.

Wolf nodded and cast a jutsu that caused a platform about 3 feet high to rise from the earth. Hopping onto the makeshift platform, Fox called all attention to himself.

"Friends! Konohans! ANBU! Lend me your ears!"

The ANBU gave Fox almost religious attention; the others seemed to be a bit confused.

"We few…we happy few, face the trials ahead of us, as a band of brothers. For he who sheds his blood with me _is_ _my brother!"_

"HOO-AH!"

"In this age of shinobi, we face dishonor and dismemberment every day of our lives! We face death itself."

Fox began pacing back and forth on the platform.

"Yet death, in time, comes to all men. We fear death, that is true, yet here you are…" A few of the ANBU grumbled at this.

"It is true, my brothers!" Fox roared. "For I see in your eyes, the same fear that would take the heart of me! We feel fear, for we are human, not just simple tools, and that is why we are ANBU! For a real ANBU will never let their fear of death overpower their sense of duty, of honor, of comradeship! For the Will of Fire _burns _strongly within us!"

A roar of agreement came from the assembled ANBU. Fox pointed at them all as he bellowed out at them.

"You are here today because you took a vow to protect your family and your homes. You took a vow to obey our Lord Hokage's orders! You are here for your own self-respect, for you would not want to be anywhere else!"

His voice grew quiet. "We are to go on a journey, a journey that you have all trained for. All of you have been subject to what is affectionately known as 'chicken shit drilling' for one reason and one reason alone: alertness. And you will need every scrap of it that you can grab hold of in this mission, or you _will _get it in the nuts. You men and women are veterans; all of you have faced the enemy. All of you have some idea of what he is capable of. This journey will take us into the teeth of his very territory. Any man or woman who does not wish to go on this journey, step forward now."

Grim silence hung over the area.

Fox nodded, proudly. "Then we shall walk through the Path together. _Together, I say! _Remember what separates ninja of Konoha from any other. Konoha Shinobi fight as a team! We live, eat, sleep and die as a team! We will not think of just ourselves, but also of our comrades standing beside us.

"Look out for your buddies, get them to the medics if you can, but do not stop moving! I don't want to hear any of you say 'I'm holding my position!' Screw that! We have a basic plan of operation and that is to go under, over and through whatever shit is thrown at us! Hoo-ah?"

"HOO-AH!"

"Damn right! We are ANBU. There may be a day of Bijuu and shattered masks, a day that all oaths are broken, but it is not this day. This is the day where we take a stand as those who go quietly into the night. As those who give of ourselves, so that others may walk in the light. Now shout out: we will not go down without a fight! Years from now you will be old and weary, bouncing your grandchildren on your knee and when that time comes, you will be able to tell them the story of your own legend! A legend of the time when the Will of Fire burned brightly within us!" The ANBU thundered their approval.

"MY BROTHERS!"

"**RAAHHHHH!"**

"SISTERS!"

"**RAHHHH!"**

"_ANBU!"_

"**RAAAAHHHHHHH!"**

"TOGETHER, FOR THE HOKAGE!" Fox roared out, drawing his sword and thrusting it up into the air.

"**RAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**

United in mind and purpose, the ANBU of Konoha charged forward, their Commander at their head, his sword leading the way. The doors provided no resistance whatsoever, splintered apart by a handful of tagged kunai. A great blade swung at them at head height, striking with the speed of a snake. Yet it was no match for the smaller, wind-enhanced blade of Fox as he struck like lightning, sending the blade spinning over their heads, where it plunged into the road behind them. A series of cracks ran from the point of impact. And just like that, the ANBU entered the abode of their greatest enemy, a smaller-than-average eleven-year-old boy.

Hana just looked on, incredulous. "That was…inspiring, don't you think, Hokage-sama, Hiashi-sama?" She turned to face them, only to find that they had joined the charge.

Hana growled disapprovingly. "Tch, men!"

* * *

Iruka entered the academy classroom, greeting Mizuki distractedly, somehow not noticing that someone had shaved the sides of his head and dyed the remaining mohawk a bright fluorescent green. He did, however, notice that neither Naruto nor Hinata were present. Oh well, recess was in a couple of hours. He would wait until then. If they didn't arrive, then he was confident that he would be able to find them during the half-hour break.

* * *

Level One

"Captain, to your left!"

Fox spun on his heel and used his sword to weave a web of steel in front of him, cutting every kunai from the fast-paced volley coming towards him, defending those behind him.

"Keep advancing! If one of us can reach the stairwell, then we can deactivate the traps, for a while at least!"

"Hai!"

Hiashi smiled, feeling the adrenalin running through his veins in a way that he had not felt for years. He lunged forward with his palm extended, shattering a boulder that had flown at him from the wall. "Allow me!" he said quietly and ran forward, Byakugan activated.

"No, you fool! Stay together!" Hawk shouted, stepping forward in his momentary distraction and being yanked to the ceiling with a rope around his ankle.

Hiashi ignored him, trusting in his sight. Running forward, he leaped over senbon that lanced out from the sides and performed a kaiten to destroy the pillar from the ceiling that tried to squash him. Skillfully, he avoided each and every trap, forewarned by his all-seeing eyes, and reached the end of the corridor.

Turning to look behind him, he smirked at the shocked stance of many of the ANBU. "The superiority of the Hyuuga clan is proved yet again," he stated, Byakugan still activated.

As if to mock him, a bright flash of chakra exploded in front of the Clan Head, blinding him, while a small, yet, for Hiashi, excruciatingly painful trap activated.

"MAN DOWN, MAN DOWN!"

The rookie cocked his head. "Well, I guess that this proves the rumor. The Hyuuga really _do _have a stick shoved up their-"

"HORSE!" Cat yelled, scandalized.

* * *

Hinata woke up with a small start as the house shuddered. Blinking, she looked around her before blushing intensely. She had been tending to Naruto when, all of a sudden, she had felt her chakra fluctuate wildly, and she had passed out, ending up lying on top of Naruto, dressed in his clothes, with her head resting on his chest. It was an embarrassing position to be in, but, right now, she was so very tired…

Hinata fell back into her dreams, curled up by Naruto's side. She did not even twitch as a second, larger explosion shook the building.

* * *

Level 3

Fox held up a closed fist when they reached the next corridor. Something was not right. The area, unlike any of the others, seemed to be absolutely harmless. The only thing that really stood out was the fact that, three feet in, the floor had been cut down into a rectangular pool about twenty centimeters deep, and then filled for some reason with an orange liquid. And yet Fox's senses were screaming at him to beware of the situation. Frowning, he stared at Hiashi, who seemed to be quite dazed. The last corridor had added a large number of flash grenades, and several other nasty surprises, to the already sadistic traps. As Fox drew his sword, he wondered just how an Academy Student would be able to get their hands on so many paper bombs. Without warning, Fox whipped his katana out of its sheath and drove it directly into Hiashi's face.

The Hyuuga Clan head's eyes gazed sightlessly back at him. Nodding to himself, satisfied, Fox sheathed his sword, the point of which had been a mere hairsbreadth from tickling Hiashi's eye. A normal flash grenade blinded you for about five seconds. It appeared that the ones made with Naruto's potent chakra were much more effective on an active Byakugan.

Now certain that his subordinate's secret would not be exposed, Fox gestured to Wolf, who nodded and performed his own, _unique_ clone.

The wood clone moved forwards cautiously, a kunai in hand. Coming to the border of orange, the clone stopped and took a deep, steadying breath. Eyes snapping open, with all the seriousness of a veteran shinobi, he raced forward, arms extended for balance, aware of everything around him.

At least he made it three steps.

A veritable hurricane of fire _exploded_ from the walls of the corridor. Hiashi gasped as he felt the heat of it hit his face like a living thing. If the clone had screamed, then not a soul had heard it above the roar of the hungry fire. Two seconds later, the fire disappeared, leaving no evidence showing that it or the clone had ever been there aside from the clone's two legs, still standing in the middle of the floor. The wood clone had been completely incinerated from the knee up.

Hana, who, along with the rest of the medics, had been standing in the stairway, which had been left thoughtfully trap-free, simply stared, gob-smacked.

"Mental note," Hiruzen said calmly, thumbing some more tobacco into his pipe. "Explain to Naruto the concept of overkill."

"Um, Hokage-sama?"

"Hai Horse-kun?"

"We tried."

"What happened?" Hiruzen asked, not entirely sure if he wanted to know.

"He rejected our reality and substituted it with his own. Right now, we're in it."

And so it went, with the ANBU and their Hokage, as well as Hiashi and a team of medics, making their way through the Path of Death. This was only made possible by the fact that holding the door at the other side of the corridor open would temporarily disable all the traps, allowing the medics to get through. That was a good thing, too; they were needed.

None of them could really pick a single floor that had been more horrible than any other. So far, though, some of Hiashi's least favorite had been the first floor, where the...incident had occurred, and the third floor. It wasn't so much the fire that roared overhead, or the great circular saw blades that had started zigzagging their way across the floor at a reckless pace. No, what had really bothered him was being forced to army crawl through that sticky orange syrup. Although, if he had been bisected or burnt alive, then that would have probably also put a damper in his day. Just to add insult to injury, once they made it through, they had all been covered in feathers, making them look like large orange chickens.

* * *

Iruka looked at the classroom clock and sighed. Over two hours had passed, and neither Naruto nor Hinata had made it to school. With a weary smile, Iruka excused the rest of the children for their recess. Turning around, he waved to Mizuki, telling him that he was going to go and find some class-cutters. With a friendly grin, Mizuki told him that it was no problem and that he should hurry and bring the strays back. Iruka frowned slightly, not sure if he had liked the way that Mizuki had used the word 'strays,' before shaking his head, letting the thought leave him. Squaring his shoulders, the Chuunin marched out of the academy.

This shouldn't take long.

They had taken far longer than expected, yet victory was in sight. All of them, save one, had been injured, blinded, cut, bashed, beaten, or just plain humiliated. So far, despite the decrease in their numbers, no one had been killed. The medics were overworked, healing all manner of injuries sustained from the traps. Hiashi in particular had needed a large amount of attention. It seemed that the Byakugan was more of a hindrance than a benefit when so many flash bombs were used. So far, he had avoided any serious injury, unless one counted what had happened on the last floor.

_Flashback_

The ANBU were now wearing their full tactical masks. All other personnel were wearing gas masks and goggles. At floor six, Naruto had somehow taken the sprinkler system of the mains and used it for his own purposes. The first thing they knew about it was when they heard the hiss of escaping air before shinobi started dropping to the ground, in the midst of life threatening traps, completely unable to control their bodies.

Astoundingly, Hiashi was somehow able to stave off the effects through sheer will and Hyuuga dignity, even if that made the occasional mad giggle he gave off every now and then all the more creepy. At least Hiruzen had now found the culprit for the reported missing bottles of laughing gas.

Unfortunately, the breathing apparatus did nothing to protect their eyes, meaning that much pain, swearing and cursing came into effect when the first of the ANBU walked into the next floor. Hiruzen did not even _want_ to know where Naruto had got hold of that much capsicum spray.

However, the last floor was rather surprising. Instead of having anything that could cause them harm, they had instead been soaked with a large amount of _tuna oil_ of all things! While it would take them forever to get the smell out of their clothes, it was not a very good deterrent, despite the fact that it made for hazardous footing as they went through the usual, or, to be more accurate, unusual, traps.

The final floor was the one that did the most damage to their forces. The strangest thing about it, though, was that it did not have a single man-made trap.

"Come on, everyone, we're almost there!" Horse shouted, rallying the ANBU around him as he booted the door open. It revealed a peaceful corridor, filled with sunlight and a furry figure sitting up in the middle of the room, gazing at them intently.

Horse, very carefully, took two slow steps back. Bull, one of the tougher ANBU in the unit, just clomped forwards, staring at the animal, who gazed back at him with an almost orgasmic look of pure anticipation.

"Hey, doesn't this cat belong to the Fire Daimyo's wife?"

Tora pounced!

Carnage ensued.

_Flashback end_

Hiruzen shuddered at the memory of that cat's claws tearing through the porcelain masks of his ANBU as if they were made of mere tissue paper. That ploy with the tuna oil followed by that devil cat was pure sadism. Ibiki would approve. After seeing the massacre that that...creature could cause with his own two eyes, he had decided to give in to the suggestions of his Genin and Jounin sensei, and up the price of the mission to hunt that cat down. Honestly, he never remembered that cat being so bad back in his day!

Meanwhile, the ANBU had arrived at Naruto's door and were now playing a game of janken to decide who would actually have to knock on the damn thing. Somewhere on the third floor, one of the ANBU had had the idea of going through one of the doors and just cut their way through the walls to get to the other side. He was promptly volunteered for the mission. A long time after his attempt, said ANBU came crashing out of the same door he had entered, completely insensate. They were unable to get anything out of him apart from his traumatized cries, something about 'spoons' and 'mice.' He was now booked in for an appointment with the Yamanaka.

They had also debated going through an open window and making their way around using kunai as climbing spikes. They had dubbed the deterrent to _that_ tactic the 'Sucker Punch Wall.' Needless to say, no one there was keen on testing Naruto's ingenuity when it came to defending his own front door.

In the end, Wolf was the one who knocked on the door. Not because he had lost at janken; in fact it had been Fox who lost, but since Wolf had teased his sempai about losing he was promptly ordered to do it himself.

Wolf knocked once and instinctively cringed after doing so, only to find himself completely uninjured. With a sigh of relief, he knocked loudly and was rewarded with the sound of movement within the apartment.

Slowly, they heard the sound of locks being opened. And opened. And opened. Finally, the door opened to reveal Uzumaki Naruto. He was wearing a night-hat that seemed to be eating his head and stumbled slightly, catching the door with one had to steady himself and using the other to rub sleep out of his eye.

"Na-ni?" he asked, trying and failing to keep a yawn from coming out.

Those who had made it to the top felt the urge to kill lessen as they gazed at the cute sight in front of them.

Finally opening his eyes and taking in the sight of the war-torn ANBU in front of him, Naruto let out a long, low whistle.

"Day-um. What the hell happened to you?"

'Urge to kill, rising,' was the collective thought of those present.

"Ah, Naruto," Hiruzen said as he subtly tried to hide the rips in his clothes. "I need to have a little chat with you, if you don't mind."

Naruto shrugged. "Sure, Jiji, I don't see why that would be a prob-" Naruto's answer was interrupted when he received a chalkboard eraser to the back of his head.

"NAAA-RUUUU-TOOO! WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING HERE! ACADEMY STARTED OVER TWO HOURS AGO!"

Completely ignoring the Hokage in favor of prostrating himself in front of the user of the 'Demon-headed jutsu,' Naruto begged Iruka for forgiveness.

The others just looked at the scene in front of them, first at Iruka, then at Naruto, then at each other. "Um, excuse me Iruka-san?"

Iruka left off beating Naruto on the head with a paper fan and for the first time noticed the other occupants of the room.

"Ah! Lord Hokage! Gomen, I did not see you there!" Iruka said, bowing his head to the others nervously.

"Quite alright, Iruka, quite alright. I have just one question for you though…how did you get in here?" Hiruzen asked pleasantly.

"I just used the back door, Hokage-sama."

"…"

"…"

"The back….door?"

"Well, yes, ANBU Fox-sama, Naruto often forgets the little things, so it is not uncommon to find that he's forgotten to lock his back door.

"I see," Fox said, before asking his subordinates in a warm voice. "So, who here actually checked to see if the back door was locked or not?"

Silence greeted this question. A loud giggle from Hiashi broke it, causing Naruto to look at him with an expression on his face that was easily translated to WTF? Doing so caused Naruto to take a large unintended step backwards. He did not like the look on Hiashi's face, especially with the way that eyebrow had begun twitching.

"Naruto-kun? Come back to bed, you really overexerted yourself last night!"

It was this situation that Hinata walked in, hair disheveled by sleep, eyes bright and expression content, wearing one of the jackets that Naruto was supposed to 'grow into,' which came just about mid thigh.

Naruto looked at Hinata appreciatively. He liked seeing her in his colors, it made her seem…his. Suddenly, a dawning sense of horror, mixed with pure, abject fear came over him as he heard a winter cold voice speak behind him.

"Uzumaki-san, may I ask what my daughter is doing here?"

Gulping, Naruto turned around and gazed into Hiashi's furious face. Never before had he thought that Hiashi's glare could be more intimidating than those which he had already seen. This glare blew any other completely out of the water and that was before taking into account the fact that his eyes were completely bloodshot.

A slow smile began spreading over Hiashi's face and the occasional giggle escaped his lips. He had just spent the past two hours being imperiled by some of the worst tortures imaginable. Flash bombs had brutalized his eyes, he had been subjected to pain and humiliation on levels which had not been matched since Kushina Uzumaki. He had gained and lost respect in front of Konoha's top ANBU. And now, after all that, he came to his destination to find his daughter in the company of a male, wearing said male's clothing. It did not matter whether he approved of the boy or not! The last vestiges of Hyuuga dignity left him.

Naruto could _feel_ the blood draining from his face when Hiashi broke into full-blown deranged laughter, cracking his knuckles for extra emphasis. Slowly, he began to advance on the quivering blond.

"Oh, fuck me," Naruto breathed out, expecting pain.

Hiashi's eyebrow started twitching even more wildly. "Wrong answer," he said pleasantly, before charging straight for him. Screaming like a little girl, Naruto ran.

He made it through the back door and onto the road before Hiashi caught him by the scruff of his orange jumpsuit.

"No mortal being can escape the all-seeing Byakugan," Hiashi said harshly.

Naruto's eyes widened in realization. Of course! If a mortal being could not escape the Byakugan, he would have to use something…more.

"LOG, AID ME!"

A puff of smoke enveloped the boy with a small _poof!_ The ANBU, who had just been ordered by their Hokage to save Naruto's life, stared as the entire main road of Konoha became covered in smoke. When it cleared, it revealed logs, many logs, which had banded together to form the stepping stones of Naruto's escape.

Hiashi cursed and took up pursuit. Hinata, in the meanwhile, had already gotten dressed and tried to escape herself, only for the Hokage's wrinkled hand to clap onto her shoulder.

"Not so fast, little lady," Hiruzen said with a smile. "You have school to get to."

"What about Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, worriedly.

"I'll mark him down as sick, possibly injured," Iruka explained patiently.

The ANBU, who, after staring at Naruto's escape route, had started drawing up a second contract for the Hokage to sign, snorted. Hiashi would have to catch the orange devil first.

* * *

Author's Note

Alright everybody. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. As you can see, I went mad about half way through and inserted large amounts of crack. Just a warning, I'm probably not going to be able to post another chapter for a while. Assignments, Exams and all that. Oh, and give me some ideas about what I should do with Horensa! Unfortunately, I can't kill him off (yet) but aside from that, pretty much anything goes! On another positive note, this fic has now been going on for a year today, or is it tomorrow...? Bah it's sometime in the next couple of days, anyway Happy Birthday This Time as a Namikaze! So, in honour of this occasion, I would like to ask anyone and everyone who has enjoyed the story to spend a couple of minutes to leave me with a decent review. I mean come on people, I've got more people favouriting this story than I have reviewing it! Please? I'm only 50 reviews away from a thousand! Yeah, you heard me right 1000! Personally, I didn't think i'd hit half that many. I also thought that there was a possibility of me giving up on this story by now. Glad it's still going strong.

Ah well, you know the drill. Read. Enjoy. Review. Not necessarily in that order.

TwiceMarked out.


	18. Graduation

AN: Okay, hands up everyone, who among you thought that I had died? Yeah...sorry about taking so long to get this new chapter up, guys and gals. I started a Creative Writing course this semester at University, which I have absolutely loved, but it means that when I have time to write, I've been writing my own stories rather than the fanfic. I did get a lot of planning done for the future, though. Gotta say, I find myself really looking forward to the Wave arc...

Anyway, you don't really want to listen to me rambling on, you came here to read a chapter, so let us get on with it!

* * *

Chapter 17

Graduation

* * *

Hawk, Horse, Wolf and Lizard shuffled their feet guiltily as they stood in front of Fox and Cat.

"Oh, damn, it's the Tapping of the Feet!" Horse wailed, quietly, staring at Cat, his posture absolutely terrified. Most people would assume that the ANBU would be more worried about the fact that their boss was mad at them. These people had obviously never been in the ANBU. The reasons as to why Cat was so much more greatly feared were generally quite simple. As far as punishments go, Fox was usually pretty light. He also had boundaries, things that he would not do. Cat, on the other hand, didn't. When she lost her temper, the result was not normally spoken of in polite society, instead, it was spoken of in terms of reverential fear, behind closed, locked and barred doors. Fortunately, her wrath usually came in stages, providing at least some warning as to when that rope around your neck was going to prove a quick way out: step one "The Folding of the Arms," step two "The Pursing of the Lips," (which wasn't all that fair, since most of the time this step was covered by her mask), step three "The Tapping of the Feet." This step was where Cat was at the moment. Given the fact that step four was "The Cracking of the Knuckles," followed very quickly by "The Drawing of the Sword," Horse had a very good reason to be worried. There was a reason why each step was capitalised/ Rumor has it that step 8 was the reason why Hayate always had that cough. He had _really_ screwed up that time.

"Would you gentlemen mind repeating that?" Fox said calmly, drawing their attention back to him.

"He's gone, Fox-taichou," Lizard said glumly.

"…Start from the beginning." It was an order, not a request.

"Well, sir," Wolf began, "it started after we thought that Naruto had been terrorized by Hiashi long enough."

"8 hours, 32 minutes and 47 seconds," Lizard interjected, counting the time off on his fingers. "Some voted for longer, but by that time most of us had gone to bed."

"We offered him a place of sanctuary, one that the Byakugan cannot pierce. He jumped at the chance."

"Like a drowning man reaching for a float," Hawk chuckled, darkly.

"Once we had him in the ANBU headquarters, as per your orders, we started his training," Wolf continued, steadfastly ignoring all interruptions.

"Wait, back up. How did you find him in the first place?" Cat asked, curious despite herself.

The question seemed to surprise the ANBU a bit, as they seemed hesitant to answer. "We didn't."

"Then who did?" Fox questioned, his tone allowing them no evasion.

"Well, y-you see Fox-taichou, we had been searching for him in the academy. Apparently, we were disturbing Iruka-san, who was catching up on some paperwork. In order to get rid of us, he offered to go find Naruto." There was much guilty shuffling of feet among the four of them as Wolf, who had been elected their designated spokesman, finished.

"Do you mean to say," Cat said slowly, "that you sent an academy teacher, a mere Chuunin, to hunt down UZUMAKI NARUTO?!" The incredulous, angry shriek that made up the academy student's name could have shattered glass. It did shatter what remained of the ANBU's composure. The ominous cracking of knuckles clinched the matter for them. Yet they would not grovel. As proud ANBU, they still had standards.

"We're sorry, alright!" Wolf whined.

"We were getting desperate!" Lizard wailed.

"Oh, we are worms! Worthless worms!" Horse groveled, clutching at Cat's feet and imploring her for her forgiveness. This caused a slight pause in the proceedings. Admittedly, Horse's reaction was understandable. Although a talented ninja, Horse came from an _extremely_ influential family, which meant that when he entered the ANBU corps, he was, to put it lightly, a snob.

Cat had been the one assigned to knock off this small rough corner. This she did. Thoroughly. With extreme prejudice. After this traumatic experience, Horse found himself at the very bottom of the food chain, so to speak, when it came to the command structure. As he hadn't made himself many friends when he first joined, most of his following missions involved anything and everything that was under the overarching title of "Code Orange."

Ignoring his weeping subordinate, Hawk muttered darkly, "besides, Iruka-san brought Naruto to us in under fifteen minutes."

"Come again?" Fox said, slightly taken aback, only to wave his hand when Hawk began to repeat himself. "Never mind, I believe you. Continue the report."

"Well, we started on his taijutsu…"

"For some reason, we had a large number of volunteers willing to help with that…" Wolf mused, a grin spreading across his hidden features.

"On an unrelated note," Horse added, having miraculously regained his composure after Cat had stopped leaking Killing Intent, "the devil can bleed."

Cat frowned in disapproval.

"Next up," Hawk continued, hurriedly changing the subject, "we moved on to his ninjutsu…" A pause began to lengthen as the four ANBU looked at each other meaningfully.

"And?" Fox asked.

"His inventory of ninjutsu is already quite…impressive."

"Substitution and henge are perfect, but he also showed us four other wind jutsu. Three of them are apparently of his own creation, so three C-rank jutsu and three D-rank."

"While impressive, that list lacks the necessary requirements for him to pass the academy exam," Fox cut in impatiently.

"Ah, well that was where we hit a little snag…"

"No matter what we tried, Naruto simply has too much chakra to perform the Bunshin no Jutsu."

"And?" Fox trusted that his men would not let something as simple as that keep them from accomplishing their mission.

"Well…he's a wind affinity, so that put paid to the chance of an elemental bunshin…however, Horse over here happens to know the Kage Bunshin Jutsu."

The four-man team waited a moment for their captain to have his say on their decision. They had good reason to be nervous. Normally, Fox would have throttled his subordinates for even attempting to teach someone who was not even a ninja a Jonin level jutsu – one from the forbidden scroll no less! But the Kyuubi Jinchuriki was anything but normal.

There were other things to consider as well. Namely, could they trust Naruto with such a technique? To be frank, there was not a single ANBU in the entire corps that would trust Naruto in a game of cards, with their wallets or, more importantly, with their sanity. The masses of Konoha had always hated Naruto for reasons beyond his control. And although the ANBU hated Naruto for reasons that were entirely his fault, there was another feeling that they all had in large doses for the blond…respect. In the time that they had come to know him, they had found him to be unpredictable, unscrupulous, devious and annoying. He scalped them all when it came to cards, humiliated them constantly, would not hesitate in kicking you when you were down and was one of the dirtiest fighters that many of them had ever seen. Yet, strangely enough, they would not stop to hesitate in trusting him with their lives. Because when all was said and done, Naruto was one of theirs. He was their problem and he was their comrade. So, Fox found it astonishingly easy to overlook the infraction and simply asked whether or not Naruto had got the jutsu down.

"Not at first," Wolf said hesitantly. "Then Horse told Naruto that this was a chakra intensive jutsu, so he could use as much chakra as he could."

Horse hunched his shoulders defensively and cowered, just a little bit.

"On the plus side, Naruto no longer has a problem with the clone jutsu," Lizard said brightly, trying to be optimistic on the matter.

"Yeah, but he can also summon about 700 Kage Bunshin in a single go," Hawk muttered, putting things into perspective.

Fox froze, his mind whiting out as the number reverberated in his skull over and over again. 700…700…700. Uzumaki Naruto had the ability to make 700 identical, intelligent, tangible copies of himself.

"That was how he managed to escape. We were all kind of shocked and then we couldn't tell which one of him was him."

Horse's explanation broke Fox out of the horrors that his imagination was conjuring. Fox stared at the four in front of him focusing all his considerable willpower into a single thought. This was their fault. "Cat, call up the search parties. Find Naruto now, his academy exam begins in 1600 hours." Cat nodded weakly, before disappearing in a swirl of leaves. Fox nodded satisfactorily. Good. And now that their no witnesses. Wolf, Lizard, Horse and Hawk gulped as Fox turned on them slowly.

"Not good," Horse whimpered.

* * *

Hiruxen was worried. Naruto had only half an hour left before the exam was scheduled to start. None of the students had been informed of the exams existence, although their parents had just now been informed of the possibility of their children's promotion. It would be done on the same basis as a field promotion. Fox would be visiting the academy for an inspection. Very casually, he would ask to see what the academy students were capable of. By the end of the day, he would be able to assess which stdents were ready for the life of a Genin and which students were going to have to stay in the Academy for another six months. However, the student had to have passing grades in order for the promotion to be validated.

At this stage, he would normally send out Wolf's squad to find Naruto, as they had the highest success rate, yet they had inexplicably been admitted to hospital just a couple hours earlier with severe injuries. At the end of his rope, he took Fox's advice and asked Iruka to make sure that Naruto was present at the academy as soon as possible.

* * *

Kiba was the center of attention in the academy after he informed the others that some kind of big job was coming into the academy today. The Inuzuka was usually a surprisingly competent gossip provider when he could be bothered. The only reason that he didn't do this too often was that Ino usually found this to be extremely annoying. After all, _she _was the Gossip Queen of Konoha! Well, behind her mother that is. Yet Kiba's sense of hearing was surpassed only by his sense of smell and he often heard things that he was not meant to. Which meant that whenever he could be bothered, he was often more informed than he appeared to be.

They were interrupted by a series of yells, accented by the occasional roar of pain. Seconds later, Iruka appeared dragging Naruto along by his hair. "Look! You see, Naruto? I told you, Hiashi is _not here!_"

"HOW DO YOU KNOW? HE'S A NINJA!" Naruto screamed, unconsolable in his logic.

Inside his seal, Shinigami and Kyuubi were more than a little bit puzzled.

"_So, he's been hunted by multiple S-class shinobi…" _Shinigami mused.

"**DEFEATED MULTIPLE S-CLASS SHINOBI…" **Kyuubi continued.

"_Suckered a Demon Fox into helping him travel in time…"_ Shinigami continued, not being able to resist the small jab.

"**BENT A DEATH GOD TO HIS WILL WITH THE THREAT OF MORE PAPERWORK AND NOT GETTING ANY…" **Kyuubi fired back promptly. Shinigami inclined his head, conceding the point.

"_He's broken into the Hyuuga compound and made himself the subject of their nightmares…"_

"**OUTRUNS ANBU FOR THE FUN OF IT…"**

"_And has broken out of their headquarter's in under two hours."_

"**ALL OF WHICH ARE HIGHLY IMPRESSIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS. SO TELL ME, NARUTO, HOW ON EARTH IS IT THAT YOU CAN'T AVOID YOUR ACADEMY TEACHER FOR MORE THAN A FEW MINUTES?"**

"I don't know!" Naruto wept internally, having kept track of the two's conversation.

**"ALSO,** **CONSIDERING ALL THIS," **Kyuubi muttered, hiding his conversation from Naruto, "**WHY IS HE SO TERRIFIED OF HIASHI?"**

Shinigami shrugged his shoulders before the thought of his father-in-law entered his mind. "…_I think I understand…"_

Having little to no progress in placating the hyperventilating blond, Iruka turned a despairing eye to Hinata. The distraction was all that Naruto heeded to break loose and make a bolt for the door, only to slam into it face first when a smirking Mizuki slammed it shut in front of him. Twitching, Naruto looked up at the teacher and glared. "There will be a reckoning!" he whispered harshly. Mizuki paled, thought about it, and opened the door for him, inclining his head politely as he gestured for Naruto to be on his way. Seeing Naruto about to escape, again, Iruka pulled out the big guns, or, to be more precise, the big head.

"UZUMAKI NARUTO, GET TO YOUR SEAT RIGHT NOW OR I WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT I DO TO YOU!" he yelled, Demon Head no Jutsu in full effect.

Naruto looked at Iruka with an eyebrow quirked and then raised both hands as if weighing the balances. "Angry Iruka, possible detention, no free ramen for a month," he said thoughtfully, wincing at the last. "On the other hand, we've got a stark raving mad Hiashi, complete with family sword, certain painful injury, threatened castration…" all the males in the room hunched automatically, Akamaru included. Naruto came to his decision. "Yeah…goodbye."

As Naruto turned to leave, Hinata caught hold of his hand. "N-Naruto-kun, don't worry, I explained everything to father and h-he's not going to come after you anymore."

"Oh?" Naruto said perking up tremendously, before turning dubious. "Are you sure? What did he say, exactly?"

"That he acknowledges his mistake and will leave off your punishment until he finds you have done something to necessitate it," Hinata explained.

"So, he'll kill me later?"

Hinata blushed, neither confirming nor denying his suspicions.

"Awesome! That I can live with!"

"Question is, how long?" Shikamaru muttered amusedly.

"Shut up, Nara!"

* * *

Feeling much happier with his situation, Naruto made his way up to his seat. Hinata followed close behind. It was only after they had seated themselves that they realized that they had not yet let go of each other's hands. Fortunately, Fox's arrival distracted most of the rest of the class, preventing them from noticing this act.

Fox appeared in a shunshin wreathed in flames at the front of the class. The fire gave a roar as it burned itself out in the blink of an eye, leaving the wooden surface completely unsinged. Hands in his trench coat pockets, head bowed, and mask fixed in place, Fox cut an imposing and impressive figure. Whispers and murmuring ran rampant through the class as Fox stood there, immobile, for a long count of ten.

"Good morning, class."

Fox spoke quietly. His words were barely heard over the din that was being made by the students. Yet when he spoke, his voice was filled with authority, the authority of years of encounters, the authority that one can only gain by leading men and women who trust you with their lives through battle after battle and coming out wiser by the end of it. The room was silenced instantly.

Fox smiled behind his mask at the frozen expressions of the academy students in front of him, all but one, who was waving a greeting to him happily.

"Well, that didn't work well, did it?" he said, chuckling a bit. "Shall we try again?

Good morning, class."

"Good morning Fox-sama!" Naruto yelled out. A mumbled greeting came from the rest of them. Sasuke was staring at the man in front of him, reveling in the power that he could sense. This man could help him. This man could make him stronger, more powerful, he could help him achieve his –

"OW!"

Sasuke glared at Naruto, who was holding a stick behind his back and whistling innocently. Kami, he _really_ hated that stick.

Fox ignored the event. Frankly, when it came to Naruto, all too often it just wasn't worth it. Gradually, he let his Intent fade. There had always been more than one type of Intent; the one he had just been using was simply one of the more complicated types and one that was only rarely used. Say you were on a mission with some fresh out of the academy Genin and the client lied about the mission ranking. All of a sudden, you came across an infamous, powerful missing Nin who was leaking Killer Intent like it was going out of fashion. An unlikely possibility, true, but possible nonetheless. If you were by yourself, then you could just match his killing intent with your own, but if you did that, what was going to stop one of your Genin from just killing himself? Thus, Intent of Authority was born.

"My name is something that I have not used in years, so you may call me Taichou while I am here, or Fox-sama. The Hokage has heard some very impressive reports about this year's academy students and as such, he has asked me to take a look at your development. I'm not interested in any academic progress. While useful for code breaking and other less active parts of a ninja's life, you are aiming to be Genin and if you want to advance, and _survive,_ in this world of ninja, then most of the time, academics mean squat. Make no mistake, you are to show me your best," at this he turned his head towards Shikamaru, who squirmed slightly, muttering under his breath. "I will know if you are not and will sincerely enjoy making it…troublesome, for those who do not show me a full effort." Shikamaru gulped. "First up, ninjutsu."

* * *

It started out as a pretty ordinary lesson, with the students getting into a long line and coming to the front of the class to perform a simple henge. Results varied, but the simple exercise was enough to give Fox an immediate idea of who would most likely end up passing. To no surprise, the only ones who really had any sort of chance were the ones that Iruka had mentioned by name. The other students, well, they weren't much worth thinking about. Hell, half of them couldn't even perform a perfect henge. Thinking back on this, Fox shifted his pants subtly. Naruto, on the other hand, had performed an, ahem, acceptable transformation, which he had dubbed as a 'distraction technique.'

The clone jutsu had also progressed much like a normal lesson would. There was some surprise when Naruto managed to create three perfect clones, a feat which he had never before been able to accomplish. All three of them then turned to Fox and began to smile, evilly. Fox shuddered; this development would likely cause them much trouble in the future.

That was where the lesson began taking a turn for the more random, not to mention painful.

Taking the Academy Students outside, he announced that he was now going to assess their ability with the Replacement Jutsu.

"But first, a little quiz...who can tell me about the importance of the Substitution?" Fox asked.

To nobody's surprise, Sakura's hand shot up.

"Yah, pinky?"

Taking a deep breath, Sakura began. "The Replacement Jutsu, or Kawarimi. Classification, Ninjutsu, general skill. An E-rank, supplementary jutsu. Hand seals, ram, boar, ox, snake. With this technique, users replace their own body with some other object, generally with a block of wood, the moment an attack lands. This creates an optical illusion, making the enemy think the attack was successful. From this, the user can use the lapse in the enemy's attention to attack or flee from the battlefield. Explosive tags can be attached to the replacement for an added surprise. It's a basic ninjutsu, first taught at the Academy but it's still a useful art that can be applied in variety of situations."

Fox blinked. Twice. "Was that word for word from the textbook?"

"Yes," came a chorus from the rest of the class.

Sakura beamed.

Fox sighed. "Poor, poor child. A Kawarimi is so much more than that. It is a way, nay, _the_ way, to call the Log to thine aid."

"Listen to me, all of you," Fox roared out as he spread his arms wide. "Listen to me as I tell you of the Holyness that is the Log."

"When thou art alone. When foes beset thee on all sides and thou hast no other allies to call upon, the Log will hear your prayers and aid thee," Fox said benevolently.

"And as the Log takes thine place, thou becomest the Log as the Log becomest thee. For naught but a moment, thou art an extension of the Log's blessing unto the Ninja," Naruto murmured, a glazed over look in his eyes.

Fox nodded, glad that one person, at least, understood. "The Log has stood by the Ninja of Konoha since its founding. It can save your life in direst of circumstances, against jutsu or enemies that would normally overwhelm you. A Replacement requires just a small bit of chakra, so much so that even civilians can perform it. In times of war, this fact has saved the lives of countless people, ninja and non-ninja alike. The Replacement Jutsu is part of our heritage and as of such, I will not accept any blunders in its performance. You there!" Fox pointed at random to an academy student, who started comically. "Are you ready to call upon the Log?"

"Y-yes?"

"Good," Fox stated, before whipping out a baseball and pitching it at him. The ball impacted the student's forehead with a loud _smack_, sending him into unconsciousness almost instantly. Fox shrugged. Apparently, the child wasn't ready.

"Right, who's next?"

* * *

Ten minutes later, Mizuki stumbled out of the Academy grounds with an icepack clutched to his head. Damn Demon-Brat. When that idiot ANBU targeting him, the Demon substituted with _him_ instead of using a log! Mizuki scowled as he remembered Naruto's explanation.

"Log excerpt number 437 states that the use of the Log in a situation that clearly could be avoided using a variety of other methods or techniques is looked down upon."

What was worse, that idiot ANBU then proceeded to give the Demon Brat bonus points! Although, this did mean that he had a reason to slip away and cause some havoc, so not everything was a loss. Mizuki had only heard about the surprise promotions this morning and had immediately informed several members of the Civilian Council of the new proceedings. He received a quick an emphatic response. The demon was not to pass. Well, that suited his plans just fine. Mizuki sighed. The Demon had been so close to just leaving before the exam could take place, why, oh why did he feel the need to indulge himself and close the door? That had given that bitch of a Hyuuga enough time to calm him down. Frantically, the Chuunin racked his brains for a way to kick him out of the exam, or at least make him incapable of passing. Slowly, a grin spread over his face. He knew just the way, all he had to do was call in an old favor, hell, if he played his cards right, odds were he could get it for free. Stealthily, Mizuki left the grounds, on his way to visit an old friend.

* * *

Fox seemed to be inordinately pleased with his results. A fact which unnerved the majority of the class. The rest were either knocked out, or Naruto.

"That was fun, now wasn't it?" Fox asked rhetorically. "Well, now that I've warmed up my throwing arm, it's time for you to do the same. Ten shuriken, ten kunai. Two people to a target, I'll call out the pairs. Remember, kids, I want your best!"

The target was a simple wooden post stuck in the ground, one that did not even have so much as a single bulls eye on it.

Sakura and a girl called Ami went first. This was probably fortunate, as when compared to the other civilian, Sakura was given a chance to shine. The following catfight that the two caused, however, produced a face palm from Fo;, although he did notice that for such a slight girl, the pinkie really packed a wallop of a right hook. The next pairs were Choji and Ino. Although their projectiles were embedded all over the post, Ino still got twelve hits, an even six of each, 1 more hit with a kunai yet one less hit with the shuriken than Sakura. Choji watched Ino carefully as she threw and got one less hit with each weapon than she did.

"HOLD!" Fox yelled.

The students froze as Fox marched over to Choji and casually lifted him up with one hand by his scarf so that they were at eye level. "You got a problem with your hearing, pork-chop?!" Fox roared in a parade ground voice.

Startled, Choji shook his head. "What was that?" Fox yelled.

"No."

"NO?!"

"No, sir!"

"I asked for your best! And I will have you give me nothing but your best, or are you out to shame your clan by giving a piss-poor performance?"

"NO, SIR!"

"Well, we'll just have to give an opportunity to show your worth then, won't we? Now drop and give me two hundred sit ups!"

Choji looked horrified at the prospect, but he immediately dropped to the ground and began.

Fox counted each sit up out loud. "One Ak-i-michi. Two Ak-i-michi. Three…" Cruel laughter rang out from the waiting students. Fox whirled upon the instigator with a vengeance, the same student who had once told Naruto that Hinata would prefer being with him, as he was more human.

"You think it's funny, ya little turd? Well, I'm sure you'll think twice as funny if _two_ people are doing it, so why don't you get down on the ground and give me _three hundred push ups!_"

After the comedian got to a count of ten, Fox sat on his back and continued the count. It was pretty obvious to him that the Akimichi had a bit of a crush on the Yamanaka, so he could understand his reasons for holding back. However, he was likely to be on a team with her in the future and if he continued to hold himself back so as not to upset her, then it would end with him either stunting his growth, or ending up dead. Both were not an option. As for his current seat, well, there was no excuse for anyone to laugh at a comrade's misfortune. To laugh at a teammate was fine, 'cause it was generally in jest and meant no harm, or you just hated each other's guts. As a team, you fought the enemy and each other but you went through each and every day _together_ and by the end of it, most teammates would willingly place their lives in each other's hands, so what was some harmless laughter in the face of that? In this situation, the little turd had laughed to be cruel. That was not the type of thing that Fox would stand for, hence why he was sitting down.

"Two-hundred Ak-i-michi!" Fox said triumphantly, causing a grin to appear on Choji's sweating face. Getting up off the collapsed civilian, Fox gave him a little kick in the ribs and told him that he still had a hundred and seventy six push ups left to go. Walking over to Choji, Fox pressed a weapons pouch into his hands. "Believe in yourself, Akimichi and give me your _best_."

Resolve in his eyes, Choji stood at the line and threw his weapons with a strength and accuracy that none of them had ever seen before.

_Thunkthunkthunk._ The last three hits brought his score up to seventeen hits, nine with kunai, eight with shuriken and all of them clustered within a thirty-centimeter diameter. Choji walked back to the rest of the group as Naruto and Kiba cheered the Akimichi's performance, his face flushed with success. Ino looked as if she had never seen him before.

The rest of the kunai and shuriken went without incident. Neither Kiba or Shino managed to beat Choji's score, Shikamaru duplicated it while Hinata got a perfect twenty. Last up were Naruto and Sasuke.

"Oi, teme. Feel like a game of tic-tac-toe?" Naruto inquired casually.

Sasuke curled his lip up in a very small half smile. "Sounds good, dobe."

One after another, their kunai _thunked_ into the target, mere millimeters away from each other, forming the four lines necessary for the game.

"You first," Naruto offered graciously. Rolling his eyes, Sasuke sent a shuriken dead in the center square. It landed at a perfect 45 degree angle. Shrugging casually, Naruto's threw two shuriken at once, both of which landed in the same corner. In six seconds, the game was over. "Dammit," Naruto pouted, staring at the three single shuriken in a row. Looking at their few remaining weapons, he brightened. "Best out of three?" he asked the smirking Uchiha.

The next game needed a couple of Sasuke's shuriken to set up, and they threw their remainders at different angles to tell whose was whose. "HA! In your face, Teme!" Naruto crowed. As they were now out of ammunition, Sasuke just glared.

"We'll finish this later," he said.

Chuckling, Fox made an obvious tick on his clipboard.

* * *

Next up was another simple exercise involving the same posts. They simply had to cause as much damage to it as they possibly could within two minutes. Ino proved ineffective here, as her jutsu were not meant to cause much damage. Choji once again had a time to shine, as his Meat Tank Jutsu simply flattened the target. Kiba's Gatsuuga bore clean through it, but left him panting on the ground from using so much chakra. Sasuke's Fire Jutsu was enough to char the wood, but not enough to incinerate it. Unlike Kiba, Sasuke was wise enough to let it alone after that, conserving his chakra for if he needed it later in the day. Shino took advantage of this by making his Kikai bugs bore through the weakened wood over and again, a feat which left most of the females in the class blubbing in horror.

"Nara, Shikamaru, you're up."

"Man, what a drag!" Shikamaru complained, schlumping over to the same post that had been used by both Sasuke and Shino. Staring at it for a while, he knelt down and put his hands in a circular position in front of him. He remained there for over a minute before standing up and moving to the post. Running his hands over the damaged surface, he apparently found what he was looking for, since he sent his shadow inside the wood through the holes bored by the Kikai. Ten seconds later, he drew a kunai and stabbed it half heartedly into the post, a little _chink_ sound reverberating in the air. The entire thing crumbled into dust. Shrugging, as if to say "no biggie," Shikamaru lazily made his way back to the open mouthed spectators.

Fox was surprised, to say the least. The kid had just crafted a shatter point right in front of him, using his shadow to weaken the wood from the inside out and then stabbed the exact right spot to cause absolute maximum damage with minimum exertion. The intellect required to do something like that was unheard of! Fox shook his head slowly. That boy would be dangerous someday. Or dead.

He had not expected much from Hyuuga Hinata. In hindsight, that had been a mistake. Hinata obliterated her target with overpowered Jūken strikes in under five seconds, before blushing slightly and hurrying back to try and become just another face in the crowd once again. That effort was ruined when Naruto pulled her into a congratulatory hug. Fox had _never_ seen a face so red!

He had not expected much from the pink haired civilian, either. Boy was he wrong. At first, she had just been pounding away at that thing, ineffectually, wasting over half her time before Naruto apparently took pity on her. First, he caught her attention and used a rather…creative henge. Fox lifted his mask slightly and wiped the blood from his nose just thinking about it. This seemed to enrage the girl as she charged him with fist raised, screeching out his name. Just before her fist connected, Naruto performed two substitutions. One Kawarimi switched him with a Log that had been stacked against a post; the next one switched him with Sakura herself. The punch that connected snapped the top of the post clean off. The stunned silence was broken by a loud voice crowing his victory to the skies.

"YOU SEE! YOU SEE! I TOLD YOU SHE HITS HARD!" Naruto yelled in triumph.

Naruto was the last of the ones that Fox could see passing to have a go at the post. He had been more than a little disappointed at first. When the timer started, Naruto had simply run at the post and started chipping away wildly at it with a kunai. The damage was next to nothing. The unpredictable student had then apparently given up because he placed a hand on his post and simply walked away. "Yo, Fox-sama, how much time have I got left?" he asked curiously, hands in pockets.

Looking at his timer, Fox answered. "Twelve seconds."

"Really? Cool! Hey, uh, you guys might wanta take a couple steps back."

Fox was suddenly bereft of company as everyone else vacated the area. The class (and everyday ANBU) had learned long ago that there was a difference between when a normal almost 12-year-old child told you to get out of the way and when Naruto told you to get out of the way. When a normal child told you to get out of the way, you may expect some paint, water balloons or the occasional kunai/shuriken. When Naruto told you to get out of the way, you got out of the way RIGHT FREAKING _NOW_ MAN!

"Sasuke, can you give me a countdown from five?"

Sasuke shrugged, after all, why not? He complied with a deadpan tone. "Five, four, three, two–"

"FIRE IN THE HOLE, BITCHES!"

**BOOOOMMM!**

Silence, apart from Naruto's maniacal laughter, reigned after the large explosion. The smoke finally died down to reveal nothing but a large crater where Naruto's post had been.

"Uzumaki-san," Fox said, quite calmly. "I was not aware that you had any knowledge of seals."

"Well of course I do, Fox-sama! I wouldn't be an Uzumaki if I didn't, now would I?" Naruto asked as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Knowing that nothing he said would change the blonde's mind, Fox tried to calculate how much of a pay rise his ANBU would demand after hearing about this incident. After coming up with an approximate figure, the ANBU Commander absently wondered whether he should join Iruka-san in begging Hinata on bended knee to convince Naruto not to get into the habit of turning city property into large explosive tags. Shaking the thought from his head, Fox turned to the next item on his agenda. Taijutsu.

Mizuki, who had slipped back into the academy half an hour ago, smiled. Now was his chance to injure the Demon brat so badly that he would no longer be able to complete the exam.

* * *

"WOOO! IT'S ABOUT BLOODY TIME!" Anko roared. She, along with Kurenai, Kakashi, Asuma and Gai had been watching the entire impromptu exam from the get go through the use of a number of strategically placed video cameras. There were other possible Jonin sensei in the room, but they had not been included within the select group. Gai hadn't actually been invited, since he already had a Genin team, but decided to stay after searching out his rival for one of their Youthful Matches. Anko provided the method, a game called "shhh!"

Gai lost.

The purpose of their clandestine activities was to evaluate this years students and decide who would go where when and if it came to teams. Due to the relative simplicity of the tests so far, Anko had predictably gotten bored. Not to mention she had already run out of dango. True, the explosion had livened things up a bit, but that wasn't what she had come here for. Truth be told, she had been looking forward to spending an hour or two simply watching the kids beat the shit out of each other. She already had a several bets riding on Naruto to win his match and a grand total of 5000 ryo on Hinata to win hers, on the condition that she was not fighting against Naruto. In fact, maybe she could make the bet a little more interesting. "LISTEN UP Y' PUSSIES!" The occupants of the room looked at her curiously. "I'll match any bet, at any time, on Uzumaki Naruto winning any match by his opponent forfeiting if I'm given two for one odds! Any takers?"

* * *

First match up was between Ino and Shino. Surprisingly, Ino was able to scrape the victory here. True, Shino had never been one to practice his taijutsu, yet he was still a great deal more skilled at it than Ino. Unfortunately for him, when he had Ino in a hold, one of his bugs chose that moment to crawl out from the sleeves of his jacket and down Ino's leg. In the subsequent flailing, accompanied with much shrieking, Ino got a lucky hit, one that was not so lucky for Shino.

Upon receiving the blow, Shino calmly released Ino from his hold and turned to face Fox. In an emotionless voice, he said quietly, "I forfeit," before simply stepping out of the circle and collapsing in a dead faint. Ino blushed, not even willing to claim this victory in Sasuke's name.

This match had another unfortunate side effect, Ino's accidental actions had succeeded in gaining Anko's wholehearted approval. She had gone for a quick dango run while the match was on and missed seeing it. Upon getting all the gory details and remembering the girl from one of her, "don't let my babies eat you" pranks (TM), she came to the conclusion that not only was this prank fun as hell, it was also a valid training method, as Ino had been somewhat hopeless beforehand.

"Alright, that was unexpected," Fox stated, before consulting his clipboard.

"Maybe we should just move on to the next match?" Iruka queried.

"Agreed. Next up, Hyuuga Hinata versus Uchiha Sasuke!"

Naruto snickered as Sasuke flinched, slightly. At least, he thought he flinched, the muscle movement was barely perceivable. What happened next, however, confirmed his suspicion.

"No."

Fox just looked at him, head tilted slightly to the side. "No?" he asked mildly. Sasuke shivered, breaking out into a cold sweat. Yet he remained steadfast. Even after actions that will not be mentioned, he remained stoic. No amount of threats could change his mind, not on this issue. "You want me to show you my best, don't you?"

"I thought I had made that obvious by now," Fox answered in that same deceptively mild tone of voice.

"I would not be able to show you my best against Hinata." Sasuke was emphatic, so, rolling his eyes at the perceived arrogance of the Uchiha, Fox put Hinata against Sakura.

"Hajime!" he cried, starting the match.

Sakura turned her head. "Are you watching me Sasuke-kun?" she cooed, loudly to the object of her interest, who winced slightly, a feeling of pity for the girl rising in his breast. The only people who even saw Hinata's hand move was Fox, Iruka and Naruto. Sasuke saw a blur, only just. As far as the rest of them knew, one second Sakura was standing confident and tall, ready to impress her Sasuke-kun, the next, Hinata had somehow grabbed a hold of her ear and _twisted._

"Owowowowowowowowowowowow," Sakura wailed.

It had taken Arlia much convincing to get Hinata to agree to this stunt, but Hinata understood that it was for the pink head's own good. At first, she was still against the idea, but Sakura's initial action swept those reservations aside. Honestly, the Hyuuga heir was absolutely horrified at the lack of sense that Sakura had shown in leaving herself so open just to find out if Sasuke was watching her. She herself had discreetly checked on Naruto, but at least she had been smart enough to do it before the match started! It should probably also be mentioned that Hinata also still had a bit of a grudge from all the times that Sakura had hit Naruto.

"Sakura-san," Hinata said gently. "You are an intelligent girl are you not?"

"Owowowowowowowowowow."

"Yet you take your eyes off the enemy after the match has started. I'm a Hyuuga you know, and right now I could turn your brain to mush with absolute ease." Hinata's voice hardened and she shook Sakura a bit. "You are studying to be a Kunoichi, Sakura. Right now, you are nothing more than a fangirl living in a pretend world, confident that no matter what happens, you will always survive because your knight in shining armor will be there to save you!" Releasing Sakura, Hinata stepped back and got into a taijutsu stance.

There were tears in Sakura's eyes, a fact that caused a twinge of pain in the kind girl's heart, yet Hinata did not allow this to cause her to falter. She stayed in her gentle fist stance and gave a come at me motion with one extended hand. Blinking away her tears in rage, Sakura charged forward, her fist raised in the air. Arlia rolled her eyes as Hinata simply dropped close to the ground and swept Sakura's legs out from underneath her, causing the pinkette's own strength and momentum to work against her. As her feet left the ground, Sakura sailed up and over Hinata, before slamming hard onto unyielding ground. With a sigh, Hinata straightened to the ground and turned slowly around once more to face her opponent. She could have ended the fight then and there but that would not have served her purpose. "Don't give up already, Sakura," Hinata said, kindly. "You are training to be a Kunoichi. Show me your strength." Trembling, Sakura regained her feet and swallowed, suddenly afraid. She was just starting to realize that this fight might not be as easy as she first thought.

* * *

Anko had somehow procured a large amount of popcorn, which she scarfed impulsively, fully enjoying the slaughter before her. Hinata was dominating the fight, that much was obvious. Yet the Hyuuga would not end it; in fact, she kept on dragging the fight on, causing defeat after defeat, humiliation after humiliation, firmly establishing her superiority. This caused some of the Jonin to murmur aloud, disappointed in the Hyuuga heir.

"Shut ya traps!" Anko yelled. "Girl ain't doin' nothing wrong!"

One of the more vocal, not to mention less intelligent, members of the crowd voiced his thoughts. "Well naturallyy _you_ would say that Anko, girl's being vindictively cruel, but of course, you don't really care about that, do you?"

Kakashi spoke up softly as he absentmindedly turned a page of his Icha Icha book, preventing Anko from killing her colleague, which, incidentally, would have proved his point. "I agree with Anko-san."

Everyone stopped what they were doing and listened. Open pervert he may be, Kakashi was an A-class ninja, bordering S-class. He was a man who had completed more S-class missions than almost any two of them put together. He was the student of the Fourth, creator of the Chidori, the man who had copied a thousand jutsu. Personality quirks non-withstanding, Kakashi was a highly respected shinobi, one of the best in Konoha. All of this meant that when he talked, people listened.

Gai nodded, slowly. "I too agree with my eternal rival," he said seriously.

"You do?" Anko asked, sounding somewhat astounded. "I mean, of course you do!"

Asuma nodded his head, concurring with his compatriots.

This caused some confusion with several of the Shinobi, as they tried to look at the situation from their senpai's point of view. Sighing loudly, Kakashi began explaining it to them.

"You people have got to start looking underneath the underneath. Tell me, out of the two of them, who do you think is more ready for the life of a ninja?"

"Hinata-chan, of course," Kurenai stated.

"Good choice," Kakashi said, eye-smiling at her. "Now, how many of you think that Sakura-chan is ready to be a ninja?"

The silence in the room was audible. "Why?"

"The Hyuuga has a better mindset."

Asuma nodded, taking over. "Exactly. Haruno-san may have the knowledge and the know-how, but I'd rather someone brought a kunai to a knife-fight, not a book."

"Sakura's a fan girl, pure and simple," Anko said bluntly, cheering quietly as the person of interest hit the ground, hard. "Oh, she's got potential, a whole lot of it. But that potential means diddly squat if she doesn't have the attitude and motivation to actually get her ass into gear and make something of herself."

"Aye," Gai agreed. "It may not look it, but all that Hinata-san is doing is trying to fan Sakura's flames of youth! So that she may bloom like a delicate flower in the springtime, full of youth and the zest of life!"

Kakashi began speaking once again. "The Uzumaki clan had a saying: Where does the chain break?" he paused, waiting for the answer.

"At the weakest link."

The Copy Nin nodded. "Exactly. Think about it."

Understanding dawned on the faces of those around them.

* * *

Hinata was not enjoying this, no not at all. It was just not in her nature to cause a person pain like this. Yet if Sakura did not get a wake up call now, then it only meant that she would have to get one later in life, probably while she was on some dangerous mission. Arlia had explained it to her in simple terms.

"You beat this into her now and you beat it into her so hard that she will never forget it! Sure, she will suffer pain and humiliation. But she will learn and she will grow. Make no mistake about it, this is a lesson that she _will_ learn if she survives long enough in this profession. Question is, what will it cost her then? Pain? Humiliation? _Embarrassment?_ No. The price will be measured in blood. Blood, suffering and grief." That was something that Hinata could not allow.

"SHANNARO!" Sakura yelled out, charging Hinata once more. Hinata was surprised, as Sakura had started acting more cautious, never committing herself to anything big. Obviously, this had changed.

Sakura was tired and hurting. Just who did this girl think she was? This was supposed to be Hinata, the shrinking violet, an easy kill! She was a Hyuuga, and everyone knew that Hyuuga only used the Juken! Then what was with all these extra moves and kicks! None of those were a part of the Gentle Fist! Breaking away from her for a moment, Sakura turned to see Sasuke's expression, and paid for it with a full on backhanded slap to the face, after which Hinata had told her to pay attention to her opponent. Sasuke had not been surprised. In fact, it looked as if this was exactly the result that he had been expecting. It pained her that he did not have confidence in her, although at this point, she really should have expected that. But what really hurt was the look in Hinata's eyes. Her eyes held a look of sympathy, of understanding, of _pity_. Sakura lost it. She had no right to pity her! She resolved to do her utmost to wipe that look from Hinata's face. With this thought in mind, she charged forward once more. She never even saw Hinata's counter.

The Jonin, however, did. As Sakura unleashed her righteous right hook, Hinata took a simple step back, timing it perfectly. Sakura's punch met no resistance and, in that instant when she was off balance, Hinata struck. Hinata's left hand wrapped strongly around the upper portion of Sakura's extended arm and she span in close to her opponent, close enough so that her right hand could grasp the front of Sakura's clothes. Completing the spin, Hinata tucked her right elbow underneath Sakura's armpit to gain the proper leverage and threw her over her shoulder.

Sakura hit the ground back first, the air driven her lungs. Paralysed for a moment, she could do nothing as Hinata leaned forward, a dagger hand at her unprotected throat. "You could be strong, Sakura," Hinata whispered, compassion shining in her eyes. "Stronger than you could possibly imagine. But to do that, you have to work for it. Then, one day, instead of constantly trailing after that precious person, you can walk along side him. Instead of being a burden, you will be a help and together, you and he will be able to overcome enemies that would otherwise be the death of you." Hinata's expression then hardened. "Or stay as you are, and rely on your teammates to carry you through the mission. But know this. There will come a time when your teammates need _you _to carry them. If you are strong, you might manage it. If you are weak, they will die and their blood will be on your hands."

"Winner, Hyuuga Hinata."

Silence reigned in the Jonin room. Kakashi had taken to lip-reading and spoke aloud for all to hear. He had done this in a perfect imitation of Hinata's voice and had somehow managed to keep reading his Icha Icha book at the same time. Anko was gloating, profusely, both at being proved right and the small pile of ryo that had accumulated in front of her.

"Honestly," Asuma said, "I'm surprised, no to mention impressed. I did not think that any of the Genin would have been able to look so far ahead. I certainly didn't expect Hiashi's firstborn to be the one to blow my expectations out of the water."

Anko snorted. "The girl is shy, not to mention kind." Here, Anko paused. "She's a lot like me actually." The Snake Mistress pouted cutely when no one rose to the bait. "She's also best friends with the Gaki, so I'm not going to be surprised with a lot of the stuff that she's capable of anytime soon."

"Indeed," Gai said, thoughtfully. "I never thought I'd see the day when a Hyuuga of all people performed a Morote Seoinage."

"Oh, so that's the name of that throw?" Kurenai asked, curiously. Gai nodded seriously.

"The Morote Seoinage, otherwise known as the two armed shoulder throw, is a technique done by those who follow the Gentle Way, or Judo."

"Judo?"

"Yosh. Judo is not a very widespread taijutsu style, despite it being an old one. That said, it would meld in nicely with the Gentle Fist."

"Oh?

"Let me explain. The Gentle Fist, although a formidable style, has several weak points," Gai said, with the full attention of his audience. Again, despite his quirks, Gai was a highly respected Shinobi. When he talked seriously, without the the usual mentions of 'youth,' people listened. Plus, there was no one in the room with a better knowledge of Taijutsu than him. "The Gentle Way would act to make up for the places where the Juken is not up to par. Naturally, of course, I will not be giving away a fellow Leaf Shinobi's weaknesses!" He said, giving them the nice guy pose with light glinting of his teeth. After the face fault, however, he and Kakashi glanced at each other. Slowly, Kakashi nodded.

Eternal rivals they may be, Gai was Kakashi's best friend, or the closest thing that came to it, and Gai viewed Kakashi the same way. An unspoken conversation between them as they silently debated the incorporation of Judo into the Juken.

The Gentle Fist has no throws or grapples in it. Of course, it is generally considered suicide to grapple with a Hyuuga, but it can be done, if one is fast enough and strong enough. The Gentle Way is largely made up of throws and grapples, not to mention ways to get out of them and make the enemy pay while doing so. Strong enough blows can negate the Juken, as the Hyuuga will have to choose between either exerting chakra to deflect the blow, or to damage the fist. However, if the blow is not strong enough, then they can do both, and a powerful enough punch to force them to choose one or the other is also often a good way to get beaten if you are not fast enough to avoid the return strike, or at least prevent one from being used. But the Gentle Way used the strength of an opponent against him, rendering that option useless. The Gentle fist had no kicks in it, although this was compensating by the annoying habit that Hyuuga had of laming you whenever you tried to kick them. Not so the Gentle Way. Both Gai and Kakashi had used these methods in the past to beat down elite Hyuuga in pure Taijutsu battles. However, if Hinata continued using both styles together…she would undoubtedly become an opponent to be reckoned with.

"Shut up everybody! The Gaki's about to fight. 60,000 ryo says that he wins this fight without even punching him!" Anko yelled.

"I'll take that bet!" several others shouted.

* * *

Naruto looked on his opponent with an expression of hunger covering his features. Slowly, he lifted half of his top lip in order to show off an elongated canine, running the tip of his tongue over it lightly to bring it to his opponent's point of view. The other boy whimpered slightly.

"Hajime!" Fox shouted. Without moving a step, Naruto let out a short, controlled burst of Killing Intent directed at his opponent. Said opponent simply froze in place, prompting Naruto to sigh slightly before walking over to him and leaning in close, face to face.

"Boo."

With a wail of fear, his opponent dived over the edge of the ring, forfeiting the match.

* * *

Back in the Jonin room, Kakashi blinked, slowly. "Well, that was anti-climatic," he commented lightly, while in the background, Anko cackled madly as she collected her winnings, mentally calculating the cut that she had to give the blond.

* * *

Not satisfied with the performance, Fox set the loser to doing push-ups while he volunteered another victim. Five minutes later, there was a line of seven people all doing push-ups. This had resulted in a frustrated Fox and a much richer Anko. Some people just never learned. Finally, Mizuki came forward. "If I may, Fox-sama, this method does not seem to be doing much good. Allow me to provide a solution. I have a friend nearby who would be happy to act as a sparring partner for Naruto-kun. After all, he's fought against Iruka and I many times and both of us are Chuunin, so it would not really be fair to Naruto-kun to force him to fight us, let alone you, Fox-sama. My friend may be a Genin, but Naruto is one of the best students we have at Taijutsu right now, so they should be evenly matched."

"Fine," Fox said. "Bring him out."

Mizuki nodded. "Koji! Get over here!" he called out.

People's eye's widened when they saw who Naruto's opponent was. He could quite probably be described with naught but a single word: big. Not just big as in tall, although by the looks of him he was just over six foot, but big as in, well, _big_. He would have topped the scales at well over a hundred kilograms, not just fat either; he had the physique of a professional bodybuilder, with biceps that dwarfed the size of Naruto's head. Hell, the guy was bigger than Gai-sensei! The one other feature that made him stand out from the crowd was a large burn scar on his face. It looked like some type of large animal had raked its claws through his skin, just missing his eyes, yet it had obviously been something that seared his flesh.

"Fee fie foe fum," Naruto muttered. "What beanstalk you fall from?"

"Who the hell is that?" Asuma sputtered, choking on cigarette smoke.

"Who cares?" Kurenai asked, staring.

"Muschles," Anko agreed, drooling slightly.

"Ahem."

Still drooling Anko turned around to see a long line of Jonin, money in hand.

"I do believe, Anko-san, that you said you would match any bet, at any time, of Naruto-kun winning his matches by forfeit, so long as you were given two for one odds?"

Anko paled, glancing at slowly at Naruto, the TV screen, the HUGE pile of ryo and I.O.U.'s in front of her and the long, _long_ line of people wanting to take it away from her.

"Some of us would like to take you up on that bet."

* * *

Koji bowed at the waist to Fox. "Fox-sama, mighty good t'see you again."

Surprised at Koji's appearance, Fox nevertheless followed proper etiquette. "Likewise Koji-san, I take it that you are Uzumaki-san's opponent?"

"Seems so."

Fox looked at him thoughtfully, before chuckling slightly. He wondered briefly if his decision to this had anything to do with Naruto's Path of Death (TM). Deciding that yes, yes it did, he answered. "I see. Proceed."

"Fox-sama, I must protest," Iruka protested. "This doesn't seem to be very fair."

"Looks can be deceiving, Iruka-san," Fox said easily. "I have full confidence that Naruto-san will make do."

Naruto swore under breath, wondering exactly what he had done to deserve this. The list that Shinigami and Kyuubi provided was both long and comprehensive.

* * *

"Uzumaki Naruto versus Kyokan Koji. HAJIME!"

Naruto immediately did a couple of backflips to gain some distance. He would have to enter this fight carefully. Koji, however, remained motionless.

"So…you're Uzumaki Naruto, huh?" he asked curiously. Naruto remained silent.

"Y'know," Koji said conversationally. "I've heard that you've given a lot of people a great deal o' trouble."

"In fact," he continued, "I've heard that you're constantly disrespecting your superiors." His eyes hardened. "I've heard that y'think yourself to be someone important."

Still Naruto remained silent. "I've heard that you're not ready to be a ninja! I've heard that you should _give up!"_

Shinigami sighed. _"Why do you think it is that so many people give him the perfect setup for that line from the pervert's book?"_

Kyuubi shrugged. **"EH, THE PLOT CALLED FOR IT."**

"Really," Naruto said slowly, in the same conversational tone. "Well I heard your mother plays pool with the planets."

CRACK.

Those who saw it winced at the sight and sound of the punch that connected with Naruto's jaw. Such was the power of it that it would have ended the match then and there, if he had angled it to launch Naruto backwards and out of the ring instead of driving him to the floor. Koji immediately tried to rectify that by swinging a large foot towards Naruto's head. But, powerful as the punch was, the big man had underestimated the thickness of Naruto's hard head. Swiftly, Naruto rolled out of the way and, sticking his hands to the ground with chakra, brought both his legs around to slam them feet first into Koji's supporting knee. Seeing it coming, Koji let himself fall forward into a kneel, taking the kick above the knee. Yet, fast as it was, the kick was a feint, and Naruto used it to push himself away from Koji's reach, before kick flipping to his feet and using the momentum to immediately dive into a somersault, sending a chakra enhanced foot into Koji's nose.

Blood started dripping from Koji's nostril, but Naruto was in the air, and vulnerable. Reaching out the big man plucked Naruto from the air and threw him back towards the middle of the ring. Hitting the dirt with a grunt, Naruto skidded across the ground for several meters, scraping away the first couple of layers of skin, before digging his hands into the earth beneath him, halting his slide barely a meter away from the edge of the arena. Slowly, nonchalantly, Kyokan Koji walked forward, wiping the blood from his face as he did so. "Feisty little brat, aren't you," he stated, contemplating the blood on his hand as he spoke. "I never thought that you'd blood me."

Naruto snorted as he slowly regained his feet. "Funny," he said, before spitting a mouthful of his own blood to the side. "People _always_ forget the first rule of a ninja when it comes to me. Never underestimate your opponent."

"Maybe yah just overestimate y'self," Koji countered logically, quirking an eyebrow as he did so.

Naruto looked at him thoughtfully. "Nah."

The two of them exploded into motion. Koji was far stronger than Naruto, even with the jinchuriki using chakra to strengthen himself. Sure, he had chakra to burn, but that didn't mean much when it came to augmenting your strength. Just ask Tsunade. But Naruto was also just a little bit faster than Koji and provided a much smaller target. Not that it helped when he found it impossible to get past his opponent's vastly superior reach. Dodging and weaving, Naruto did his best to avoid each titanic blow that came his way, trying futilely to find an opening in the man's guard. Slowly, Naruto got into the rhythm of the rather predictable punches. That was a mistake, as proved by the roundhouse kick sent towards his chest. Powerless to dodge, Naruto was still able to cross his arms in front of him in a block. Not that it mattered, as the kick was powerful enough to send him rocketing back off the ground. Naruto rolled as he hit the ground, regaining his feet and charged, ignoring the throbbing of his arms. They would heal soon enough. Koji almost seemed to sigh as he swung one ponderous fist forward in a blow that would have taken Naruto's head off. At least, it would have, if Naruto had not dived underneath it, sliding through the gap in Koji's legs and coming up behind him, facing the same way that he was.

Koji turned to the right, trying to face Naruto. The effort proved to be futile, as Naruto turned with him, moving his feet in long, sliding, hop steps in order to keep pace. Koji was getting frustrated, he knew that Naruto was behind him, he knew that he simply needed to turn around to face him, yet, it just did not seem to be happening that way. Almost as if Naruto knew exactly what he was doing before he actually did it.

That was actually reasonably close to the truth. Most Shinobi, aside the Hyuuga, never really spent any time on hellstromism, or the ability to tell what a person was thinking by how there muscles moved. Naruto actually kind of sucked at it, but right now, his opponent's muscles were massively over developed. He did, however, have an advantage that gave him just the edge he needed. His instincts. Combine those two factors with a lot more combat experience that anyone thought he had and he could read just enough to be one step ahead of his massive opponent.

Comfortable that he was safe, for the moment, Naruto went on the attack. His fists seemed tiny in comparison to his opponent, yet they each had specific targets. Three targets to be exact: the kidney, the coccyx and the third lumbar vertebrae. Again and again, Naruto slammed his fists against those three points, swearing slightly at the feeling of punching a brick wall. Never mind. He had already done that before in training. Yet Naruto could only imagine the amount of pain that Koji would be in right now. The big shinobi dived forward in a roll, getting away from those punishing hands. If the little runt had kept that up, then there was the possibility that he would have actually beaten him! Even now, his mobility had been greatly reduced and his entire body was twitching from the pain that ran spasmodically through it. At least it would have, in a normal person.

"You're a vicious little scrapper, aren't ya?"

Naruto grinned wolfishly. "I try."

* * *

Kakashi slowly shook his head, amazed at the progress that the little blond had made. "Had this been a normal fight," he said, slowly. "Naruto would have already won."

Asuma nodded as he puffed on another cigarette. "Tell me about it. If he used a kunai instead of his fists, any of those points would have ended the match. I had no idea that the academy was teaching all these vital points to their students."

"They don't," Kakashi said, glancing at Anko, who was presently tied up in the corner after trying to sneak out of the room. She had thought for sure that she could win her rather outrageous bet. That was before she saw who his last opponent was. As such she had immediately tried to sneak out of the room to avoid the possibility of handing over all her lovely ryo, at least, as soon as she had stared long enough at the "muschles." The other Jonin, who had already lost a substantial amount of money to the Snake Mistress, had objected. Hence the softcore bondage scene.

* * *

"First rule of a ninja," Naruto said confidently, slipping back into his unorthodox taijutsu stance. "Never let an opponent get behind you."

"I thought 'never underestimate your opponent', was the first rule?" Koji asked, seemingly curious.

Naruto waved him off unconcernedly. "We're training to be shinobi. It's a rather hazardous profession where a mistake can get you killed. Therefore, _all _rules are the first rule."

Koji chuckled quietly. "You know what? I think I like you kid. So I'm not gonna insult you anymore." For the first time since they started the match, Koji channelled chakra to his limbs.

* * *

"Uzumaki-san has shown great flames of youth!" Gai said punching the air as he did so. "Yet he will not be able to win this match," he finished quietly and definitively.

"What?" Anko shrieked. "Why?" She had rather easily slipped her bonds after seeing Naruto doing so well against the much bigger man and was much distressed by Gai's statement.

Gai shrugged before speaking matter-of-factly. "Simple. Kyokan-san is a most youthful individual. He and his family came to Konoha before the last war and he joined up as a Ninja of the Leaf. Now, he is a semi-retired shinobi due to an accident that resulted in the deaths of his teammates against a team from Iwa during the Third World War."

"What happened?" Kurenai asked.

Gai winced as he retold the story. "His teammates were overconfident. They charged the Iwa nin without conducting proper investigation. Koji's teammates were excellent shinobi, a fact which fed their arrogance. That proved little help to them when the Five Tails' Jinchuriki ripped them to shreds."

"From what I understand," Kakashi said casually. "Koji managed to escape from a Four Tailed Blood Shroud. What's more, he did it while carrying his comrades bodies, what was left of them."

"He's a blacksmith now," Gai continued. "One of Konoha's finest, which is why he is not made to go on any actual missions. But, from time to time, he and I will have a friendly spar. He's never won in pure Taijutsu, but he is one of the only people who can push me while using it alone. The fact that he can also take one of my full powered punches to the jaw while I'm on the Third Gate without getting killed and get up afterwards, ready for more, is also a nice bonus."

Silence greeted this statement, before more people started to bet with Anko against Naruto.

Anko summed up the situation nicely. "Blondie's screwed."

* * *

Koji came in hard and he came in fast. Naruto tried to block the first punch. The feeling of his forearm fracturing from the impact told him just how bad an idea that actually was. He felt the bone knitting itself back together as he tried frantically to avoid each punch. It was like fighting a completely different being! He could hear the _whoosh_ of displaced air every time a hand passed close by his head. Yet he did not panic. He could handle this, he calmly reassured himself. He could-

Whumf!

Just when Naruto thought he had gotten used to the speed of Koji's blows, he suddenly threw a left hook at least twice as fast as all the others. Completely unprepared for it, Naruto took it directly in the belly. He tried to give out a cry of pain, yet had no air left in his body to do so. Blood came out of his mouth instead at the pure force of that titanic blow. Silence reigned over the compound, broken only by Hinata's scream of "Naruto-kun!"

As Naruto fell to the ground, Koji turned and began to walk away. A shifting of dirt gained his attention. Turning around, he was amazed to see Naruto back on his feet.

"Stay down, kid. Yah ain't gonna win this one," Koji said matter-of-factly. "Give it up."

Naruto laughed. "Give up trying to make me give up!"

So saying, Naruto rushed forward once again. He pirouetted around Koji's fist, fast as it was, finishing the move with the point of his elbow striking directly at a point just underneath Koji's heart. The big man was faster. Koji simply took a single, lazy, step backwards and avoided the blow, hammering Naruto hard across the face with his own elbow strike. Koji followed it up with a left jab to Naruto's ribs before finishing up with a kick to the side of Naruto's body that resulted in him being thrown to the ground once more.

"You really that arrogant? I find it hard believin' that yah would continue to think you kin beat someone so much stronger than y'self?" Koji asked angrily, all trace of the previous kindness he had displayed gone as if it had never been there, his strange coming on stronger as anger entered his voice.

"Arrogant? What the hell do you mean?" Naruto said incredulously.

"You're good, kid, real good. But y'ain't not nearly as good as yah think yah are. You go out into the field thinkin' like that, never willin' to back down and y'all be dead in a week."

"I don't bloody care!" Naruto shouted angrily. Rage burned in Koji's eyes as he moved to attack once more, yet he halted his movement as Naruto carried on speaking.

"You think I don't know how weak I am? You think I don't know that there are monsters out there that would tear me apart as soon as look at me? Newsflash bozo! I know! But that sure as hell doesn't mean that I'm the type to just run away! I plan on Hokage one day; y'know why?"

"Let m'guess," Koji said sarcastically, "so that everyone will acknowledge yah?"

"To hell with that!" Naruto shouted, fuming slightly, which hid the blush as he remember other, more ignorant times. "The Hokage is the strongest person in the village and I want to be strong enough to protect my precious people."

Koji looked impressed despite himself, before he just shook his head slowly. "That sounds mighty pretty, kid, but yah don't even know what's out there."

"Monsters."

The other academy students looked at him, not understanding. Fox just nodded his head slowly. He knew that Naruto was more world weary than most, but this was beyond what he thought he was aware of.

"Monsters y'say? What, like th' ones that're hiding 'neath yah bed?" Koji said mockingly.

Naruto shivered at the thought of it. "I sure as hell hope not. Cause if they were, I'd probably soon be dead, or wishing I was." He shook his head. "I'm talking about _real _monsters, monsters in human form, people who kill, torture, burn, subjugate, rape, conquer, manipulate, slaughter…all for the pleasure of it. There are people out there in the world that would take me apart with a smile. There are people out there in the world who would kidnap young girls for the express purpose of turning them into breeding machines. There are people in the world that have killed their entire family for no reason other than to test their own capacity. If I give up to someone like you, how would I ever be strong enough to face one of those monsters?" Several people in the audience winced at these words.

"Then why don't y'tell me? What'd you do if you faced one of them now?" Koji asked, genuinely curious as to what Naruto's answer would be.

"I have the perfect plan," Naruto said, nodding sagely. "Turn around and run like hell. Screaming like a little girl is optional."

"_Too right,"_ Shinigami agreed.

"**YEAH, JUST ASK HIASHI," **Kyuubi said, snickering.

Koji gave a short bark of laughter, which ended as abruptly as it began. Steel glinted through his gaze. "How is that any different from giving up?"

"It's a tactical withdrawal, nothing wrong with that. You weigh up the risks and decide whether or not it's worth it. You'd be plain stupid not to. Remember, 'a fox who fights and runs away lives to fight another day.'"

"And if you had your precious people there with you? What then?"

"I'd fight." Naruto's response was instant and unflinching.

"You'd die." It was a statement of fact, said in a way that brooked no argument.

Naruto shrugged. "I'd cheerfully slit my own wrists if it meant that my precious people would live just a moment longer. Besides, my death would be the least costly to Konoha. I don't have a family to mourn my passing. My clan is dead. I'm no clan heir; I'm not a famous ninja, not yet at least. Hell, you're talking to the village pariah remember? There are probably a lot of people here who would celebrate my passing. Those I count as precious people would be sad to see me go, but better they live to be sad than I live to bury them. Selfish, I know, but true."

The Jonin in the room stared at the young man incredulously. Although he did not know it, Naruto's words had gained him many an ally that day.

Koji finally broke the silence. "So. Y'all won't give up?" he asked once more.

Naruto remained silent. Koji nodded, cracking his knuckles threateningly as he did so. "Alrighty then. In that case, yah leave me with no choice. FOX-SAMA?"

"Aye?"

"I forfeit."

Fox nodded, his smile hidden behind his mask. Koji's words left a dumbstruck silence that was broken by a loud yell coming from the distance.

"**AWWWWWWWW, YEEEAAAAHHHH!"**

Ignoring the sound of Anko's jubilation, Fox gestured towards the two fighters. "Winner, Uzumaki Naruto. Shake hands, lads."

Confused, Naruto shook Koji's hand. "Why?" he asked simply.

Smiling sheepishly, Koji pulled a business card from his pocket, losing the accent as he calmed down once more. "People were worried that you weren't ready for the life of a ninja, mentally at least. Probably because you treat everything like some kind of joke, hell, you even treat the ANBU like they're some kind of joke!"

"But they are!" Naruto protested.

The onlookers sweat dropped.

"Nevertheless, we were worried that if you tried to treat your career as a shinobi the same way you'd end up dead before your time. Turns out you know a lot more than you let on. For what it's worth, kid, you've got my respect, which is something that I don't just hand out to anybody. You'll be a great ninja one day, one of the best, if you keep at it."

Naruto swallowed, feeling a lump in his throat. "Thank you," he said humbly.

Koji looked at him thoughtfully, before digging a business card out of his pocket. "Here. If you ever feel the need to get pounded again, look me up. Who knows, given a couple of years, you might even be ninja enough to beat _me_ in a spar!"

Naruto looked at him, indignant. "Oi!"

Koji's deep, booming laugh echoed around the training field.

* * *

Mizuki moved hurriedly to catch up with Koji after he exited the the Academy.

"You were supposed to ensure that he couldn't pass!" Mizuki said through clenched teeth.

Koji just chuckled as he looked down at the angry man. "You were wrong, old friend. You told me he wasn't ready to be a shinobi. You were wrong. He's more than ready t'be a ninja of the Leaf."

Mizuki gritted his teeth. Who did this dumb ox think he was? Breathing out, he calmed down. After all, it wouldn't do to blow his cover, not yet.

"I'm sorry, Koji, it's just, ah, never mind."

The blacksmith looked down at him, concerned. "Just what, mah friend?"

Acting reluctantly, Mizuki spoke of his concerns. "It's just, ever since I saved your little sister's life, you've always done your best for me, you took me in, lent me money if I was low, invited me into your home and this is how I repay you."

"What of it?"

"We took the matter to the Council, remember? They were concerned, especially after I told them that Naruto wasn't ready to be a ninja! They expressly told you that you were to fail him, or at least render him unable to pass this year. After all, better broken bones than a dead body."

Koji waved his concerns away. "I said that if he wasn't ready to be a ninja then ah wouldn't allow him t'pass. Y'know Mizuki, you're a good teacher, carin' for yah students like that. But y'gotta let this one go. Way I'm lookin' at it, Uzumaki has the potential t'be one o' the greatest Ninja we've ever seen. He were ready t'be a ninja. Ain't no way I was gonna break him when I saw that."

"The council will make things difficult for you," Mizuki warned.

Koji shrugged.

"So be it. Better my life gets difficult than I break a child's spirit. I can take a bit o' trouble." With that, he said his goodbyes and made his way back home.

Mizuki glared after him. "You should have done what I told you to, Koji. A little trouble? Hah! I'm afraid that this time, you've overstepped yourself. You had a chance and the _order_ to break the Demon Brat's spirit, and you didn't. An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. His spirit, for yours. You will regret this, you bastard."

* * *

"Well done everybody. I've seen enough," Fox said, rummaging in his jacket. Finding what he was looking for, he threw the items to nine people in the room.

Naruto looked down at his new hitai-ate in shock, before glancing quickly around to see that the rest of the Rookie Nine all had an identical expression on their faces. All bar one.

"This is going to be such a drag."

"Congratulations, you lot. Report to room 3A tomorrow, to be assigned your team and sensei, _Genin!"_

* * *

AN: And cut. Sorry that this chapter wasn't as long as some of the others, but it was a chapter that needed to be done. Naruto and the rest of the Rookie 9 have now finally graduated. Yay! We also got to know a couple more characters who needed a decent introduction. Koji was someone that I thought of just making a one hit villain, but in the planning of future events I may need him a few more times. Is the accent intentional? Yes. Is there a reason for it? Yes. Am I going to be telling it to you now? No. Hehehe. This chapter wasn't beta-read, mostly because I'm going away camping again and won't be back for a while and I thought I'd kept all you guys waiting for far too long anyway. Next up is the real graduation test and a time when the results of a poker game finally come into play.

Alright now everybody, you know the drill. Read, enjoy, review, but most of all, enjoy!

TwiceMarked out.

P.S. The section about the Holyness of the Log comes from Third Fang, a mighty author.

P.P.S OVER A THOUSAND REVIEWS! WWWWOOOOOOHOOOOO!


	19. The Start of Something New

**AN:** Hello everybody! Do I need to dodge anything deadly or grovel for a while for not updating for so long? Don't answer that. Anyway, I'm not going to go on (for long) giving excuses about why I haven't updated in so long. Suffice to say…shit happens. To be honest, it's still happening but what you gonna do? I decided that, although this chapter is shorter than usual, I needed to actually get it out there or I wouldn't be able to for ages. I did include a short omake at the end of it to make up for things. Hope you enjoy it.

Anyway, what am I doing wasting your time here? You didn't come for me, you came for the story, which is down there, so get to reading it already.

**(WARNING, ADVANCING PLOT)**

* * *

Chapter 18

The Start of Something New

_Click. Click. Click. Clack._

The noise of lacquered shogi pieces being moved around on the board was the only sound that pervaded the Hokage's office.

_Click._

"Good move," Hiruzen commented. Fox inclined his head, grateful of the compliment.

"Do you remember the time that you and I were on the opposite sides of the same mission?" the Hokage asked, reminiscing about early times.

Fox snorted, loudly. "Same mission my ass. You just wanted to get away from the paperwork!"

Hiruzen chuckled. "True enough, although I may actually have preferred doing the paperwork to guarding that arrogant prick."

"Your efforts certainly did make my job a lot harder," Fox confirmed, as brief smugness entered his tone.

"Bah," Hiruzen exclaimed. "You won anyway. Ivan 'the Butcher,' slain by your hand."

Fox nodded, thinking back fondly of the one time where he comprehensively defeated the Professor.

"I always did wonder though, why were you guarding him in the first place?"

The Hokage shrugged. "Ivan was slated for termination. And I needed someone competent to become the new Fox. What better way to test the potential leader of the ANBU department than to pit him in a battle of wits between leader of the village himself?"

"I'm glad I passed muster," Fox said sarcastically.

The Professor chuckled. "You were good kid, real good, but after all those failed attempts I was beginning to wonder if I would have to finish the job off myself. Then all of a sudden Ivan just drops down dead. I never did understand how you did it, it just happened."

"I admit, by that time I was clutching at straws," Fox confessed. "You prevented everything I threw at him, be it poison, knife or explosives. Hell, you even found the explosive notes in the toilet."

"I also found when you switched the vegetable oil with peanut oil. Clever trick that, trying to use his peanut allergy to do him in, leaving the taste testers none the wiser. Too bad it didn't work."

"But as you said," Fox stretched languidly. "I got him in the end." You could hear the smirk in his voice, despite the mask covering his expression. Hiruzen's eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly.

"So, how did you do it?" he asked, very casually.

Fox held up two fingers in a V for victory sign. "Not telling."

"OH, COME ON!" The Third Hokage exploded. For eight years now, he had been trying to pry this secret out of Fox, a secret that the ANBU commander delighted in holding over his head. There had been times when Hiruzen had lain awake for nights on end trying to puzzle out how Fox had accomplished the seemingly impossible. Fox was working alone; trying to get at a target protected by not only the Hokage himself, but also by Elite Jonin, four of them to be exact.

Ivan had been moved to a secure location. All food was thoroughly checked by the resident ninja. The entire servant task force was made to go through extensive background checks and had all come up clean. The area was swept with a fine toothcomb every hour to make sure that there were no traps in the area. They had the finest chakra sensor Konoha had to offer there in person, constantly on alert for the smallest flinch of foreign chakra. State of the art locks, seals, hell, they even had those horrifically expensive _security cameras_! In short, they had everything to their advantage. In the end, none of it had mattered. Ivan had still died. And not a one of them could figure out how the hell he had pulled it off. Rumor had it that the only reason why Kakashi had ever joined the ANBU was to try and pry that secret out of Fox, given that he had been one of the four Jonin on site when the assassination took place. Rumor also had it that the only reason Kakashi had quit the Black Ops was that Fox refused to tell him how he had pulled it off, even after the Cyclops had shown the man his face.

Fox reached across and patted the Hokage comfortingly on his arm. "There, there, Hokage-sama, it's alright."

"Tell me."

"Nope."

"That's an order."

"Hmm? You say something?"

Groaning, utterly frustrated, Sarutobi let it go and changed the subject. "So, what do you think of the newly graduated genin?"

Fox cocked his head, slightly. "They have potential," he conceded.

"If they survive long enough for it to be brought out," Hiruzen said, sighing pessimistically.

Fox caught the hidden meaning behind his words. "Then you _do_ believe Yurei's warning." It was a statement of fact, not a question.

"I do, Kami help us, I do."

Silence greeted this statement for a moment as thoughts took a darker turn. Fox was the first one to break the stillness. "You know, of course, that Naruto has had some contact with Yurei already?"

Hiruzen looked at him dryly. For once, the expression on his face could be easily read. It said: _what kind of a fool do you take me for?_ Fox held his hands up apologetically, warding himself away from the Hokage's gaze.

"Just stating the obvious, just stating the obvious." His tone became hard. "You going to be doing anything about it?"

Hiruzen shrugged. "What would you have me do?" he asked, ruefully. "I was going to talk to Naruto about it days ago, but then we ran through the **Path of Death** and things kind of snowballed. It's obvious that Yurei has given Naruto some form of training and I honestly can't blame him for that."

"Yurei is still an unknown, we need to know more about him in order to keep the village safe," Fox argued, mildly.

Slowly, thoughtfully, Hiruzen made his next move. "Tell me Fox, do you believe the warning that Yurei gave us."

"Logically there is nothing but a very slim chance that Orochimaru and a new village could cause much harm to the Leaf. He'd have to be some kind of idiot to attack the strongest Shinobi village with such a paltry force," Fox replied. "And to attack in the middle of the Chuunin exams? To break that peace agreement would be far more trouble than it is worth, he'd turn every village against him!"

The Hokage snorted. "I did not ask you to tell me about the political ramifications, I asked you whether or not you believed that war would come to the Leaf during the Chuunin exams. Do you believe Yurei's warning?"

Fox hesitated, slightly, before letting out a brief sigh. Leaning forward, he slowly moved a piece into position to mount a stronger offensive on his opponent's king. "Yes. Log help me, but yes, I do."

The Hokage nodded as he moved to strengthen his fortifications. "Then it is for that event that we will prepare. If we are to trust Yurei on this, then I will extend my trust to him on some other matters as well. As per his wish, Naruto will receive his mother's blade should he pass the test and become a Genin."

Fox cocked his head. "Are you sure that is wise? After all, the hilt may have belonged to Kushina, but the blade itself was never hers. And the legends that surround that blade are…"

"Immaterial," Hiruzen interrupted. "I had that blade tested by the finest of our Shinobi. Never did it show anything that may have been classified as supernatural." Hiruzen snorted, slightly. "It could not even conduct chakra, for crying out loud!"

Fox murmured, almost petulantly in Sarutobi's opinion, "well of course you never found anything, the people you had test it never matched up to the legend's criteria!"

Hiruzen rolled his eyes. "You mean how it stated that only the chosen of the Uzumaki could wield the sword? I saw Kushina with that sword hundreds of times. Again, it only ever acted as an ordinary piece of sharpened metal."

"Technically, the legend states that only one of 'The Family' can wield the sword," Fox said, shrugging, "but I see your point."

"Good. Now, shall we get started with the reason why we came here in the first place?" Hiruzen asked, a slight twinkle in his eye as he readied himself to put Fox's King in check.

"You mean the new Genin team placements?"

"Naturally," Sarutobi stated, smirking slightly, sensing his soon to come success.

Fox stirred to move his King, paused and then withdrew his hand thoughtfully, watching the Third, trying to read his intentions. Naturally, he discovered nothing.

"How do you plan to split up the teams?" Fox queried, taking his time to think over his next move.

"Usual specialties. An Assault team, a Capture-Interrogation team and a Tracking team."

Fox frowned. "You believe war is coming to the Leaf, sir?" he asked, blocking the oncoming check with a knight as he did so.

"I've already said that I do, Fox."

"Then, excuse my bluntness, but why are you trying to get those kids killed?"

Silence reigned. "Excuse me?" the Hokage asked, dangerously.

Fox shrugged. "You and I both know that a specialized ninja is a dead ninja, especially in wartime. Just ask any ANBU. Look at your own career, Hokage-sama. You were never one to focus on just one thing, which is why you are so feared by the enemy, even today."

Hiruzen nodded, slowly. "A true ninja is more than just a knife in the dark."

Fox shrugged. "A lot more. Sure, keep them in teams under those headings, but by the Sage, don't have them all be completely specialized! A ninja at peace can afford to be good at just one thing. A ninja at war cannot. Your own student said something along those lines to me a few years ago."

The Hokage sniffed. "Did he now?"

Fox nodded. "That he did. Mind you, though, Jiraiya was stone drunk at the time."

"What was it that he said?"

"Well, it was after he was caught in a fuinjutsu trap which prevented him from summoning the toads to help him. As I recall, their leader gave a classic evil overlord speech about how his defeat was now inevitable." At this, the ANBU leader cleared his throat and gave a scarily accurate imitation of Jiraiya's voice, even adding a slight drunken slur.

"No reshpect I tell ya. Firsht a'all, the guy thinks he has me on a silver platter, and he jusht won' shut up! All a becaush I, the 'Toad Sage' can no shummon any toads?" he continued, giving a loud snort. "Sure, that might work onna reg-regular ninja, but me? I'm a freaking Sannin! Most people, they get good at one thing, mebbe two. They just ninja. Me, a Sannin? There's a difference. Sure, I mostly use summoning jutsu in a fight, 'cos I'mma damn good wit'em! But, but I kin also kick ass in taijutsu, I can use ninjutsu of water, earth, fire and a whole lot of other non-elemental stuff. I'm a fuinjutsu master cahpabul of space time techniques. I kin use a staff, sword or kunai in a pinch and that's wit'out going intah any sage techniques!" Fox paused, his words lingering in the air.

"Did he say anything else?" Hiruzen asked.

The ANBU commander shifted uncomfortably. "Yes, sir."

"Well?"

"After that he had another bottle of sake, then started talking in great depth and detail about his accomplishments as an author and his prowess as a ladies man."

"Ah."

A few more turns of Shogi were taken by each of them before the Hokage spoke once more. "You do raise a good point, Fox. But Asuma, Kakashi and Hibiki are experienced Jonin. I am sure that they will be able to give them the grounding that they need."

Fox paused. "Hibiki?"

"Yes?"

"I thought that Yuhi Kureanai was going to be one of the Jonin sensei for this upcoming class?"

"Yes, she was, but Kurenai has only just been promoted to Jonin, so, naturally, those more senior to her get first priority. Unless you know something that I am unaware of?"

Reaching beneath his coat, Fox drew out a highly official looking contract. Raising his eyebrow, Hiruzen took it from him and began reading.

"An agreement between Asuma, Kakashi, Gai and Kurenai to come together at least twice a week and teach each other's Genin teams their own specialties-"

"And Anko, Lord Hokage."

"Oh?"

Fox nodded. "Naruto shanghaied her into training him and his teammates in poisons and antidotes. Pity she never specified how many teammates he could have…"

Hiruzen chuckled. "Point. It is a good plan, I admit, but I do not see it happening. I do not intend for Kurenai to be a Jonin sensei this time around and I am loathe to do something that may interfere with their teamwork."

Fox stayed silent for a moment, before letting loose a heavy sigh. "Then I suppose I'll have to do something to make you change your mind."

"Oh? And what will that be?

Fox frowned, thoughtfully. "I could always try a bribe."

"I pay your salary, Fox. You don't have enough money to tempt me."

"There must be something that I could give you to change your mind."

"Nope."

Reluctantly, Fox came up with the one thing he could think of. "I could tell you how I offed Ivan the Butcher."

Hiruzen paused, his smirk frozen on his face. This, this was tempting. He would not risk the young lives of those under command for such a paltry thing, yet at the same time, he really, really wanted to know how Fox had done it.

"You tell me how you did it and you join in with the Genin team's training every now and then to make sure that they are showing proper progress."

"Deal."

Reaching over, the Hokage signed the appropriate paperwork. It was done.

"Alright. So, how did you kill him?"

Carefully, Fox took the papers from the desk and tucked them beneath his clothes once more.

"Hmm? Oh, but you can't expect me to tell you now, Hokage-sama. After all, the Academy Students have yet to become true Genin. If they do not, then that will render our agreement null and void. Plus, it wouldn't do for the other ANBU around here to spread the secret, now would it?"

As the Hokage was busy gaping like a fish, Fox made one more move. "Checkmate, Hokage-sama."

* * *

Naruto came into the Academy just a little bit late, yet with a big, goofy grin on his face. His white striped friends had gotten all the more numerous since he had started feeding them. And Shirobi had been getting bigger and bigger, as her babies grew. When he came with their daily meaty meal, which now had to be sealed instead of just carried around in a sack, his tigers were all there and waiting. There were twenty-two of the big animals there now, which added up to a lot of meat. Suji had been fussing over Shirobi the entire time he was there, washing her, bringing her more food and chasing off any other tiger that came sniffing around. Naruto had shuddered violently when he first witnessed the mauling that Suji had administered with extreme prejudice. Apparently, the tiger was a firm believer in the best defense being a good offense. Yet when Naruto had kept his distance, the upcoming mother had taken matters into her own paws, as it were, and had trotted over to him before lying down next to him with a grunt. With a smile, Naruto had rested his head against her soft fur, before her heavy breathing sent him drifting off to sleep. He had awoken just a few minutes later by something smacking the side of his head. Blinking owlishly as he awoke, he was nevertheless aware enough of his surroundings to know that there was no-one close enough to have hit him like that.

"_Put your head back down,"_ Shinigami said gently.

Shrugging, Naruto did as he was told and nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt something hit him through Shirobi's thick fur.

"_Dust unto dust, life from the dying, and so the Circle of Life continues," _Shinigami said softly.

A grin slowly spread across Naruto's face as he placed his ear on Shirobi's stomach. From this position, he could hear the strong beat of the big tigers heart. _Lubdub, lubdub, lubdub. _But as he concentrated, sending chakra to his ears and blotting out all other distractions, focusing his entire being on that sound, he realized that this song was not a solo act. Two more heartbeats purred their own rhythm in tandem, fluttering and faster, yet in perfect time with each other, their beat sheltered beneath that of their mother's. For a while, Naruto simply lost himself in the moment, listening to the beat of new life, before another sharp kick bought him back to reality. Smile still spread across his face, he made his way back to the academy.

* * *

Iruka was there to say goodbye to them, leaving Mizuki to teach the rest of the class for the day. Wrapping his around an obliging Naruto in a hug, he then pulled him into a headlock and started giving him a noogie. He figured that he owed it to the blonde after all the trouble he had put him through. After finally releasing himself via substitution with Sasuke, Naruto scowled to hide his smile and went over to stand next to Hinata, who giggled slightly at the way his already spiky hair stood up even more than usual. After hearing the cute sound, Naruto immediately resolved to make sure he heard it more often, even if he was the one that she was laughing at.

"_He's not being serious, is he?"_

"**I THINK HE IS," **Kyuubi mused. **"I OFTEN FIND MYSELF SURPRISED AT THE IDIOCIES OF HUMAN COURTSHIP RITUALS. MAKING AN ABJECT FOOL OF HIMSELF IS STILL WELL WITHIN THE REALMS OF POSSIBILITY."**

'We can't all be as smart as foxes,' Naruto thought, sarcastically.

"**BUT IT'S SO SIMPLE! HERE LET ME EXPLAIN."**

Ignoring Naruto's firm statement that, no, he did not need an in-depth summary of a nine-tailed Demon's mating habits, thank you very much, or at least words to that effect, albeit slightly more M-rated. Unfortunately, Kyuubi ignored and proceeded to administer just that.

"**I'LL EVEN PUT IT INTO FIVE NICE, EASY TO UNDERSTAND STEPS SO THAT YOUR MORTAL BRAIN CAN COMPREHEND.**"

"Not listening, not listening."

The Demon Lord's voice overwhelmed his protests as the Nine tailed vulpine continued.

"**STEP 1 MEET. ADMITTEDLY, THERE MAY BE SOME CHASING INVOLVED TO ACCOMPLISH THIS STEP."**

"_Be grateful. At least you didn't have to actually kidnap the girl you were interested in to even get a chance to-" _Shinigami muttered petulantly. Kyuubi ignored him.

"**STEP 2 SNIFF. A HEALTHY VIXEN, NO BETTER SMELL IN THE WORLD."**

"_The Fox may have a point after all, gaki, you did say that Hinata smelled nice."_

"**STEP 3 PROVE YOUR DOMINANCE. I'LL LEAVE THAT UP TO YOUR OWN DISCRETION."**

"_Awfully decent of you, old sport. However if you want my advice, you'd grab some whipped cream, this not so little thing right here and a couple of these leather-"_

"SHUT UP!" Naruto cried wildly, launching himself at Shinigami.

"**STEP 4," **the giant fox continued, ignoring the small blond mortal attempting to gag the god of death with a set of risqué paraphernalia and a…wait, was that a…? Never mind, nothing but madness, humiliation and shame lay that way. Trying to block out the sound of high pitched buzzing, Kyuubi completed his sentence ** "PROCREATE."**

"**STEP 5," **here Shinigami spat out the object that Naruto had shoved down his throat in an effort to gag him before he choked. It clattered noisily on the floor as he and Kyuubi spoke as one._**"REPEAT STEP 4 AS NECESSARY."**_

"_Whoops, Iruka's talking now."_

Anime tears of thanks streamed down Naruto's face. Iruka, by now having become used to such things, didn't even pause.

"I'm so proud of you all," Iruka said, sniffing slightly to prevent some tears of his own from escaping. "I know that probably doesn't mean all that much to you from an Academy Teacher, but it's true. Congratulations, all of you. Now, before I go, just listen to old Iruka one last time." He sighed here, his eyes turning serious. "You are about to become Shinobi of Konohagakure, soldiers of the hidden leaf village. Staying alive in this job is never easy and even if you do, it's a hard life. Be vigilant, be wary and never underestimate your enemy. Trust in your friends and in your teammates; never abandon them when they are in need. As a ninja, you may be called to die for your village, but never allow that to be your first option. I'm not going to tell you not to die for Konoha; I won't take that choice away from you. But consider this. People in this world die for their village all the time, it's not all that uncommon really. But once you're dead, then you are of no more use to Konoha. Rather, live for your village, after all, the village is not the buildings, or the land, rather it is the _people_ who make up the village. And if we all die for the village then there will be no more village left, which kind of defeats the point, doesn't it?" He smiled slightly, trying to relieve the tension and failing miserably. The smile faded away.

"The world is a nasty place and we are a part of it. We do not lead glamorous lives. We are not storybook heroes. We are ninja and that means we deal in reality. All too often we must harden our hearts and blacken our souls to get the mission done. But by doing so, we can protect the innocent, and, if we're lucky, we might even make the world a better place. Sometimes, the knowledge that you are making a difference is all you've got to help you carry on and occasionally, that's enough. Sometimes it's not. If you ever find that to be the case, then look around you." Iruka paused and his words became a command. "Look around." Blinking the nine students in the room did so, seeing the classroom that they had spent so much of their short lives in.

"What do you see?" Iruka said, softly.

"The classroom, sensei," Sakura answered, slightly confused. Naruto shook his head. There was so much more, if you only looked in the right place. Iruka's words slowly washed over him shoring up his conviction, leaving him feeling stronger than when he had first entered the room.

"I'll tell you what I see," Iruka said with a smile. "I see friends, companions, fellow leaf shinobi," he pointed at each of them as he continued on. "When you feel that it is all too much, then look around you. We fight for the village. But the village is not a symbol. It is not some overarching concept that we willingly give our lives for. And it is not the greater good."

Pausing, Iruka took a deep breath and carried on, making sure to meet the eyes of every one of his students as he tried to give them his last words of wisdom as their sensei. "One of the rules of ninja passed down from the archaic times is to never have any attachments. Forget that rule right now. You fight for your friends and, ironically enough, they fight for you too. If it becomes too much, draw strength from that. You are not alone. This is what makes the Leaf strong. You are young, yes. Some may say that you are too young. The world is dangerous, but we will not make you go out into it alone," here Iruka paused once more, allowing what he had said to sink into the minds of the students who were no longer his charge, yet people that he would always care about all the same. His gaze lingered on Naruto the longest, the warmth of understanding and a look of pride burning deep within his eyes.

"_You know, Iruka was one of Naruto's first role models and one of the people that Naruto looked up to for all of his life. I've always wondered why. I mean, sure he was one of the first people that accepted him, but that not explain the level of hero-worship that he had for him."_

"**TRUE, I MEAN, LOOK AT THE OTHERS HE HELD IN SUCH HIGH REGARD. SARUTOBI, JIRAIYA, KAKASHI, TSUNADE, THE FOURTH, ALL OF THEM LEGENDARY SHINOBI, SOME OF THE STRONGEST OF THEIR TIME."**

"_And his dream is to be the strongest Hokage in history, yet he regards the opinion of a relatively unknown chuunin more than almost anyone else."_

"**WHAT IS IRUKA THEN, TO COMMAND SUCH LOYALTY?"**

A smile spread slowly across Shinigami's face, glad that Naruto had such an influence in his life and that he recognized and respected a man such as this. After all, he shuddered to think about what type of man Naruto might have become if the only thing he ever respected was strength, or power. _"Iruka is something that is rarely found in this world of Shinobi."_

"**OH, AND WHAT IS THAT?"**

"_A good man," _Shinigami said simply. Yet, despite the simplicity of the words, Kyuubi understood the enormity of the statement. Giving a small bark of laughter, Kyuubi nodded his head in agreement.

Unaware of his divine judgment, Iruka calmly finished his talk. "Which is why you have been assigned sensei. They will be your guardians and teachers. They are there to support you, to teach and if need be, they may become a shoulder to cry on if necessary and they will do all that they can to protect you, until you yourself can protect them as well."

On cue, Kurenai entered the room. Her sharp red eyes regarded all of them dispassionately, tightening slightly at Naruto's waving form. "Greetings. My name is Yuuhi Kurenai, primary sensei of Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino."

Naruto started a little bit at that. Primary Sensei? What the hell was that about?

The three members of Kurenai's team stood up to leave with their new sensei, Kiba crowing slightly about how they had a 'hot dame' for a sensei. Kurenai remained resolutely expressionless and motioned them to take their seats once more. "We're going to wait until the others get here first."

Others? A slow smile crept unconsciously over Naruto's face. If he were right, then things had just changed for the better. The grin only got wider when another well-known figure entered that room in a swirl of leaves.

"Morning everybody. My name is Sarutobi Asuma. Yes, the old man's my dad. Get over it. I am the primary sensei of Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Choji and Yamanaka Ino."

"CHAAAAAA!" Sakura shouted, having worked out that she would be in a team with her 'Sasuke-kun.'

"It's probably going to be a while until the others get here, so Kurenai and I are going to tell you a bit about ourselves before we all get started," Asuma said, placing a cigarette in his mouth and flicking open a lighter.

"Ahem." Asuma glanced at Iruka, who had a slight glare on his face. "Sorry, Asuma-san. The academy is a non-smoking zone."

"Ah," Asuma shrugged. "I'm sure that it'll be alright if we wave that rule for a bit, neh?"

Iruka said nothing, yet the glare he now sported was the one that he usually reserved for Naruto when he had done something that exceeded his usual flair for the dramatic, or disastrous. Asuma put away his cigarette.

"Thank you, Asuma-san," Iruka said graciously, letting up on the glare a little. "However, don't be too worried about the others. I'm sure that they will be along shortly."

A single eyebrow was raised by both Jonin-sensei, who were united in their disbelief.

"What makes you so sure, Iruka-sensei?" Kurenai asked, genuinely curious.

Iruka simply shrugged. "I promised her dango."

As if summoned by the magic word, the door opened with a bang as Kakashi's unconscious form slid across the floor, leaving a long red smear that marked his passage. Anko walked in with a self-satisfied smirk, hands in her pockets, a moment later. "Did someone call?" she asked, innocently.

Asuma and Iruka both stared at the blood trail on the ground before pointing at Anko. "You killed Kakashi-sempai!" they exclaimed as one. Kurenai simply facepalmed, muttering something under her breath which sounded suspiciously like 'not again.'

"Nah, don't worry, he's just knocked out," Anko said, unashamedly.

"Then what about all the blood?" Sakura demanded.

"It's coming from his mask," Naruto said distractedly as he tried to find something to use as gloves so that he could remove that infernal bit of blood-soaked cloth and see his sensei's face.

"Oh, that?" Anko answered, waving the incident off. "He didn't want to come straight away, so he was attacked by a pair of magnificent puppies and passed out from the pleasure of it."

"Uh, don't you mean pain?" questioned Ino, looking a little confused.

Anko allowed a slow, predatory grin overtake her features. "No. No, I'm pretty sure I meant pleasure."

Kurenai sighed, before stepping forward and slapping Anko upside the head, taking control of the situation. "Alright, enough, the man on the ground is Hatake Kakashi, primary Sensei of Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto. And this-"

"My name is Mitarashi Anko, kunoichi extraordinaire!" Anko interrupted. She held out both arms as if to receive the accolade of a thousand adoring fans. Behind her a black banner unfurled from the ceiling, hiding the male sensei behind it. Shuffling so that she faced them side on, she crossed her arms and struck another pose. "Interrogation, infiltration and poison specialist, not to mention one of the hottest ninja that you will ever have the honor of meeting."

Naruto applauded loudly wolf-whistling as he did so. Anko frowned before taking in the expressions of her audience. Ino and Sakura looked horrified, Hinata somewhat thoughtful while the boys, Naruto not included, had expressions that varied from mild embarrassment (Shino) to plain out drooling (Kiba).

Confused, Anko turned around and was confronted with a larger than life sized banner of herself in striking a rather sexy pose wearing nothing more than some rather risqué lingerie. "Damn I'm sexy," she stated matter of factly, a small grin on her face.

Kurenai muttered darkly under her breath at her friends antics and, walking to the side of the banner, pulled a cord that caused the whole thing to fall to the ground.

"Anko?" she asked, sweetly. "What was that?"

"The wrong banner," she answered promptly. "I got that one for doing an assassination on a budding warlord with an interest in painting. I waited until after he finished the painting before I pulled a kunai and slit his throat."

"_**WHERE THE HELL WAS SHE KEEPING A KUNAI WHILE WEARNG THAT?"**_Naruto's tenants asked as one.

'I'm not entirely sure I want to know,' Naruto answered.

"But enough about me. Oh wait, there's more! I specialize in poisons, assassination, interrogation and infiltration. Due to an unwise bet, I'm going to be teaching blondie and his teammates."

"And there's the catch," Kakashi interjected smoothly. "You see, this year the Hokage has decided to try something slightly different than usual."

Asuma nodded, and continued "usually, you would be divided into three different teams, each of you with one sensei who would focus on all your teaching."

Kurenai stepped forward to continue. "This year, you are going to be the participants of something new. Instead of three different teams, the nine of you are all on one single team. Not only does this mean that you are all going to get specialized training from a larger pool of Jonin, it also means that you will be able to reliably team up with a larger group of people to perform more difficult missions."

"Of course, that will only happen if you can prove yourselves to be real Genin," Kakashi said with a smile.

"What a drag," Shikamaru muttered.

"What do you mean Kakashi-sensei?" asked Sakura.

"Simple," Naruto mused, apparently thinking out loud. "We've been graded by the academy, but the academy teachers aren't the ones that are going to be taking us out into the field. They've gotta know our capabilities. They've gotta know whether or not we're compatible. In short we're not actually real Genin yet. Not until they say we are. Am I right?"

"Meh, close enough," Kakashi answered with an eye smile. "The three of us will be giving our primary students one more graduation test. If you all pass, then you'll all be teammates, understand?"

"Oh yes, I think I understand perfectly," Anko interjected as one arm snaked around Kakashi's neck. "Correct me if I'm wrong in my understanding, but you're saying that if these brats all pass their easy little quiz, then I'm going to be stuck teaching all nine of the twerps for the foreseeable future?" One eye was twitching dangerously.

Kakashi looked thoughtful, before his expression cleared. "You are mistaken."

Anko heaved a sigh of relief and released the cyclops. "They'll have to all pass a hard graduating test, after all we usually have a 66% fail rate, but if they do, they you will be stuck teaching all nine of the twerps for the foreseeable future." Eye smiling once more he turned to his gaping students, who had turned pale upon the words '66% fail rate.'

"Haruno, Uchiha, Uzumaki. Meet me tomorrow at 6 a.m. tomorrow at training ground 7. Oh, and I suggest that you don't eat anything. You'll only throw it up if you do."

With those ominous words, he disappeared in a shunshin, just in time to avoid Anko's flying tackle, a kunai in each hand. She slid across the highly waxed floor (Naruto) and straight out the open doorway headfirst. A loud thump resounded from her direction

"Right, the rest of you, meet Kurenai and I up on the roof for further information. You might want to hurry, before she regains consciousness would be good."

Nodding in agreement, the others got up to leave.

"See you later Hinata-chan!" Naruto called, waving with a large grin on his face.

Hinata blushed before waving back. "Bye Naruto-kun. Good luck."

Naruto shook his head. "Nah, don't need luck. None of us do." The rest of the prospective Genin looked at him curiously. Naruto just snorted. "Come on guys, look at us, we're so awesome that we got passed six months early by _Fox!_ We're all just too awesome to not pass this measly little test. Just remember what Iruka said. We are not alone. And if we all pass, then we're going to be the largest official team in, like, ever, so we're just going to have to show them the best teamwork that they've ever seen, blow them away, and blow this test out of the water. Capiché?"

"Yeah, yeah, we got it. Besides, it would be far to troublesome to fail these things anyway," Shikamaru drawled out as he exited the room, followed by the others. Shino, however, paused to speak.

"Indeed. Despite my usual distaste for Nara-san's typical disposition, I find myself having to coincide with his statement. Why? For it could be construed that another half a year spent at this academically inclined institution would be a an unwanted surplus of time," Shino concurred.

Walking out the room, he immediately turned round and started walking towards the window.

"By the way, it seems as if Mitarashi-san is regaining consciousness. It is therefore possible that you will resort to the logical conclusion and use a novel point of egress like myself." So saying, he slipped out the window and began walking on the side of the building up to the roof.

"What does he mean, a novel way of egress?" Naruto muttered.

"He means to find a new exit," Sakura explained.

"I know he meant, there's just nothing novel about it. Ninja always use the windows, in fact, they seem to prefer them."

"Hnn."

"Less talking, more fleeing," Iruka said, turning back to look at his once students from his perch on the windowsill.

Approximately thirty seconds later, Anko rushed back into the empty classroom. "I don't believe them! They're going to make me teach all those brats? I'll go crazy!" She paused. "Well, crazier," she grudgingly admitted. She sighed, "well, maybe one of the classes will fail, then I won't have to teach as many." Pouting, she slid down the wall to the floor. She appeared to sulk for a while, before a slow smile began to spread across her face. "If a team of three fail, then they're not going to be Genin, and I don't have to teach them. But if Naruto fails, then none of them are going to be his teammates. And if that happens…"

* * *

Behind the wall in the next-door classroom, Wolf paled dramatically, and clicked a button on his radio. "Code Orange Beta. I repeat Code Orange Beta."

"Roger Wolf. In progress?" the operator asked.

"Negative. In planning."

"Are you sure?"

Instead of answering, Wolf stuck the radio out off the window, where the sounds of Anko's laughter were clearly audible.

"Is that Anko?"

"Affirmative."

"Shit."

"Affirmative."

* * *

**OMAKE** Fangirl Repellant.

"I'm telling you Sasuke, it works!"

Sasuke scoffed. "Yeah right, dobe. You're telling me that you, of all people, have developed a way to defeat the harpy demons?"

Naruto nodded, a large smile on his face.

"Look," he said, gesturing at the aluminum can, which looked suspiciously like a can of deodorant, that he held within his grasp. "All you have to do is point it at the fangirl in question and then press the button on top. The can is full of compressed wind chakra, so it sprays the repellant out in a fine, chakra powered mist."

Sasuke looked at the can warily. "What's in it?" he asked. Naruto looked affronted.

"You think that I'm just going to tell you the ingredients, just like that? You're trying to steal my recipe so that you can make it for yourself!"

Sasuke sighed. "Fine, don't tell me what its got in it."

Naruto nodded, self-righteously. "I will tell you this though, inside, there is a combination of alcohol and Holy Water, among many other things."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows at Naruto, before shaking his head. "Alright, how much?"

Naruto smiled blindingly. "Eight hundred ryo per bottle."

"EIGHT HUNDRED RYO!"

"Ah, did I say eight hundred? I meant seven hundred and ninety-nine," Naruto said, blithely.

"Forget it. Not interested!" Sasuke growled viciously slapped the bottle out of Naruto's hand and began walking away.

"Oi! Sasuke!" turning, the Uchiha was just in time to catch a much smaller bottle, about one fifth of the size. "Free sample!" Naruto called out.

Sasuke shrugged. "Whatever. I told you. I'm not interested. Now leave me alone, I'm late for the academy." Turning on heel Sasuke stalked off, his nose in the air, seemingly radiating arrogance. Behind his back, Naruto had a pouting expression that soon changed into an evil smirk. Using the smallest bit of wind chakra, Naruto sent a gentle, yet precise, kazeken at Sasuke. His target never even noticed the large rip in the back of his pants, exposing his jocks for all to see.

"Not interested, you say? But you will be…you will be…kukukuku-" A wild Anko appeared. SLAP!

"Bad Naruto, bad! Not a pedophile! No ramen for you!"

"But-"

SLAP! SLAP!

"OK, OK, OK! Thanks, I needed that!"

"Glad you understand. Now let's get rich."

* * *

By taking the rooftops, Naruto had found it easy to get to the academy in soon after Sasuke. Once there, he leaned against the doorframe and hollered.

"Oh, laaaaddddiiiieeess?" As one, every female in the class faced and upon seeing who it was, deliberately turned their backs to him, save one. Naruto shrugged. "Sorry, forgot. Oh, haaaaaaaarrrrrppppiiiieeeees? Hey, that rhymed! Not you of course, Hinata-chan," he added hastily. This time when they turned to face him they wore their most ferocious glare. Naruto shrugged it of like water off a ducks back. Please, he had been glared at by the Kyuubi no Yoko. Compared to that, these girls glare were less than nothing. Although, Sakura's would get better, especially when she eventually had something approaching Baa-chan's strength to back it up. "I just came to inform you all that I am taking the day off," he said, giving them all a wide grin.

"That's right! For the entirety of today, Sasuke is on his own, with no one to rescue him – I mean, get in you way in the pursuit of your true love." Several girls looked at him thoughtfully, wondering what the catch was. They were the wiser ones. The rest started edging towards the exit. Naruto had proved to be extremely frustrating when it came to their…pursuits of Sasuke-kun. Somehow, he was always able to give them the slip, although Naruto maintained that losing them was even harder than losing the ANBU who regularly chased him to bring him to justice for one of the pranks that he…didn't commit. Sasuke, seeing where this was going, bolted through the window immediately, providing a perfect view as he did so.

"Did I mention that he's got a huge rip in the back of his pants, meaning that things normally covered are now in full view?"

Obviously, if the stampede to the door was any indication on the matter, Naruto had neglected to mention that one little detail. "Itai," the blond said. "Memo to myself, don't stand in between a fangirl and the doorway to object of said fangirl's obsession…"

Sighing to herself, Hinata Hyuuga, the only girl who had not glared at Naruto and now the only girl left in the class, began to scrape Naruto off the floor. "Why did you d-do that Naruto-kun?"

Naruto smiled up at Hinata goofily. "I thought of another get rich quick scheme, Hinata-chan!"

At that moment, Iruka walked in. "Where is my class?" he asked. As one, every hand remaining in the room pointed to Naruto, including Hinata's. Naruto looked affronted at being accused, before he turned to Hinata and proclaimed dramatically "Et tu Hinata?" The Hyuuga heir giggled.

* * *

Sasuke was running for his life, his honor and his dignity among other things. For the first time, he felt truly grateful to Naruto for all the time spent running that he did with him. Of course, if it weren't for Naruto then he would not be in this situation in the first place, so the gratitude and hatred kind of evened out. Naruto had said that the running was to build up speed and to avoid capture. Right now, Sasuke was more interested in the avoiding capture part of the deal. Behind him, was the horde. Almost the entire population of "Sasuke Uchiha Fangirls," was chasing after him, an unholy light burning deep within their slightly glazed over eyes, which, incidentally, were staring at his ass. Not for the first time, Sasuke wished that he had mastered the tree walking exercise. He could almost make it to the top of the tree now, before slipping off. But he just could not afford to risk it at this time. If he slipped off a wall with that lot of savages behind him…well, it didn't bear thinking about.

* * *

Ino and Sakura, meanwhile, had put aside their petty rivalry for the moment and were treating this…endeavor as a mission. Meaning, to poor Sasuke's misfortune, that there was actually some sort of mild cognitive function leading the crush of fangirls after him.

"Ino-pig! You take the second squad, use the alleys, and get in front of him." Ino nodded with authority, before leading about a third of mob down a side street.

"Just make sure that you're there to drive him towards us, Forehead! We'll act as the anvil, but you're the hammer! We'll meet you four streets down!"

Sakura nodded, before giving what she thought was a warrior like war cry, which in reality was more along the lines of a fangirlish squeal, and lead the charge towards their tiring prey.

* * *

Sasuke was cut off, surrounded, staring a fate worse than death in the face. He had made the mistake of turning into a dead end, oh the irony. It was then, when all hope seemed lost, that Sasuke remembered the "free sample" that Naruto had given him. With no other chance, he pulled out the bottle and pressed the button. Immediately, those who came into its stream fell to the floor, either twitching, or unconscious. Sasuke blinked. What the hell, it actually worked? Filled with trepidation, mixed with the smallest feeling of hope, Sasuke marched forward, spraying as he went.

* * *

Unseen, Anko smirked from the rooftops. It had been difficult to craft a genjutsu that came into effect when it's target was touched with a certain compound. Difficult. Not impossible. Naruto, who was sitting next to her, smirked as he opened two bottles of beer and passed one to Anko.

"So all we have to do now is wait for the bottle to run out."

"Yep," Anko agreed. "I can't wait to see the look on his face when it does."

"You got the camera?" Naruto asked, causing Anko to wordlessly hold up the producer of his future blackmail material.

"You're a bad influence on me Anko-chan.

Anko smirked. "Gaki, I'm not entirely sure, but I think it may actually be the other way around."

Naruto looked thoughtful, then shrugged. Anko immediately pulled his head into her bosom as she hugged him tightly, ignoring his flailing.

"I'm so proud!"

"Geroff of me you Crazy Snake Lady!

"Fine, fine," Anko muttered, sighing as she released him.

"Oi!" Naruto yelled. "Why is the beer gone?"

* * *

**AN** Hehee. I'm evil. Sorry that the update wasn't as long as it might have been, but at least it's something, right? Right? Yes the omake was canon, I just wasn't sure where to put it. Anyway, next chapter we have the graduation test, and other stuff. If you've got any idea how Fox pulled off that assassination, PM me. If you are right, you will be rewarded. Anyway, read enjoy, review. You know the drill.


End file.
